The Renzella discretion permits a court to take into account a prior period of imprisonment not falling within s 18(1) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) in determining the appropriate sentence, but does not permit time already spent in custody to be reckoned as a period of imprisonment already served. Where a sentencing judge becomes aware of new information affecting the sentence after pronouncement, the judge must afford the offender and their legal representatives a proper opportunity to make submissions before reaching any conclusion, particularly on the application of the principle of totality. Time spent in detention prior to sentence for unrelated offences must be factored into the sentencing synthesis, whether as an aspect of totality or as an application of the Renzella discretion.
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