Where no overt error is identified in sentencing reasons and a substantial term of imprisonment has been imposed, a Crown appeal on manifest inadequacy will generally require comparative sentencing evidence or other material demonstrating the sentence lies outside the available range; merely pointing to the seriousness of the offending and asserting the sentence is too short is insufficient. The aggregation of maximum penalties for individual offences is not a valid yardstick for assessing sentence adequacy in Australian law. The DPP's prosecution policy threshold of reasonable prospect of success should, for consistency, also apply to Crown sentence appeals.
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