The Court of Appeal held that sentences for conspiracy to traffick a large commercial quantity of methylamphetamine were manifestly excessive where the offenders merely facilitated a transaction between third parties, never possessed the drugs, stood to gain little or no financial benefit, the quantity was close to the large commercial quantity threshold, and the transaction ultimately failed. The Court held that Gregory v The Queen's guidance about sentences 'well into double figures' for commercial quantity trafficking does not impose inflexible rules for conspiracy cases, because the added range of variables in conspiracies (including the content, duration and reality of the conspiracy) means the sentencing pattern for conspiracy may be expected to differ from that for substantive trafficking. The Court also confirmed, consistent with Ibbs v The Queen, that the nature of the acts constituting the offence in a given case is what matters for sentencing, notwithstanding that conspiracy carries the same maximum penalty as the substantive offence.
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