Section 5AA of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) requires the sentencing court to be affirmatively satisfied of a causal connection between the offender's good character or lack of convictions and the commission of the offence. The causal connection is not established merely by showing that good character enabled the offender to gain employment in a role providing access to the child — 'access' is not a proxy for 'assistance' in the commission of the offence. There is a practical, if not evidential, onus on the Crown to point to evidence of the relevant connection, and ordinarily a prosecution submission is required before the court would consider whether the statutory condition is met. The provision does not contain any deeming mechanism equivalent to s 37 of the Crimes Act 1958 and must not be conflated with the elements of the offence under s 49C.
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