The appropriate use of s 10A (conviction with no further penalty) in a domestic violence offence must be rare, having regard to ss 4A and 4B of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). The spontaneity and short duration of domestic violence offences do not diminish their objective seriousness, as domestic violence is typically unpremeditated. Where an offender's mental illness cannot be definitively causally connected to the offending but the court finds it more likely than not that some psychiatric symptoms were present, only modest weight should be given to mental health in reducing moral culpability. The relative youth of a 20-year-old offender does not mitigate repetitive violent domestic offending where the pain and harm inflicted would have been readily apparent to a young adult.
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