Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005

Before making a sentence-related order for the principal offence, the court must ask the offender whether the offender wants the court to take any of the additional offences into account in relation to the principal offence.

The court may take an additional offence into account in making a sentence-related order for the principal offence if—

the offender admits guilt to the additional offence; and

the offender confirms that the offender wants the additional offence to be taken into account by the court in relation to the principal offence; and

the prosecutor consents to the additional offence being taken into account.

If the court takes an additional offence into account in relation to the principal offence, any penalty imposed for the principal offence must not exceed the maximum penalty the court could have imposed for the principal offence if the additional offence had not been taken into account.

The court may not take an additional offence into account if the court does not have jurisdiction to make a sentence-related order for the offence.

For subsection (4), the court is taken to have jurisdiction to make a sentence-related order for an additional offence even if the jurisdiction may only be exercised with the offender’s consent.

To remove any doubt, subsection (4) does not prevent the Supreme Court from taking a summary offence into account.