Section 9(2)(fb) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld), which commenced on 18 March 2024, requires sentencing courts to have regard to the probable effect of a sentence on family members for whom the offender is the primary caregiver regardless of whether exceptional circumstances exist, overriding the common law principle from Stewart and Chong that family hardship had to be exceptional before it could mitigate sentence.
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