In sentencing for customs fraud offences under s 233BABAD of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth), the amount of duty and GST intended to be evaded is a proper measure of objective gravity, but it is an error to treat that amount as an actual loss to the Commonwealth where the goods were part of a controlled operation or drawn from seized stocks. Where an offender engages undercover operatives as agents to perform the mechanical steps of importation, and the offender would likely have sought other means absent the operatives' involvement, the operatives' participation does not reduce the offender's moral culpability.
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