Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

This Act is the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.

This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

In this Act—

aggregate sentence of imprisonment—see section 53A.

associate with means—

to be in company with, or

to communicate with by any means (including post, facsimile, telephone and email).

authorised officer has the same meaning as it has in the Criminal Procedure Act 1986.

Commissioner means the Commissioner of Corrective Services, Department of Justice.

community correction order means an order referred to in section 8.

community corrections officer has the same meaning as it has in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

community service work has the same meaning as it has in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

community service work condition—see sections 73A and 89.

compulsory drug treatment detention means detention in accordance with Part 4A of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

conditional release order means an order referred to in section 9.

convicted inmate has the same meaning as it has in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

correctional centre has the same meaning as it has in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

correctional officer has the same meaning as it has in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

Corrective Services NSW has the same meaning as it has in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

court means—

the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeal, the Land and Environment Court, the Industrial Relations Commission, the District Court or the Local Court, or

any other court that, or person who, exercises criminal jurisdiction,

but, subject to the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987, does not include the Children’s Court or any other court that, or person who, exercises the functions of the Children’s Court.

detention centre has the same meaning as it has in the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987.

domestic violence offence has the same meaning as it has in the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007.

exercise a function includes perform a duty.

full-time detention means detention in a correctional centre.

function includes a power, authority or duty.

graffiti offence means an offence under the Graffiti Control Act 2008.

home detention means detention in accordance with Part 4 of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

home detention condition—see section 73A.

inmate has the same meaning as it has in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

intensive correction has the same meaning as in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

intensive correction order means an order referred to in section 7.

intervention plan has the same meaning as in the Criminal Procedure Act 1986.

intervention program has the same meaning as in the Criminal Procedure Act 1986.

intervention program order means an order referred to in section 10 (1) (c).

juvenile justice officer has the same meaning as it has in the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987.

juvenile justice officer means a juvenile justice officer employed in the Department of Justice.

non-association order means an order referred to in section 17A (2) (a).

non-parole period means a non-parole period referred to in section 44 (1).

offender means a person whom a court has found guilty of an offence.

Parole Authority means the State Parole Authority constituted by section 183 of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.

person subject to control has the same meaning as it has in the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987.

place restriction order means an order referred to in section 17A (2) (b).

proceed to a conviction includes record a conviction.

sentence means—

when used as a noun, the penalty imposed for an offence, and

when used as a verb, to impose a penalty for an offence.

Sentencing Council means the New South Wales Sentencing Council constituted under Part 8B.

sentencing court, in relation to an offender undergoing a penalty imposed by a court, means the court by which the penalty was imposed.

supervision condition—see sections 73, 89 and 99.

Note.

The Interpretation Act 1987 contains definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Act.

In this Act—

a reference to a sentence of imprisonment to which an offender is subject includes a reference to a sentence that has been imposed but is yet to commence, and

a reference to the term of a sentence of imprisonment is, if the term is varied under this or any other Act, a reference to the term as so varied, and

a reference to a non-parole period of a sentence of imprisonment is, if the period is varied under this or any other Act, a reference to the period as so varied, and

a reference to a court that has sentenced an offender, made an order or given a direction includes a reference to the same court differently constituted, and

a reference to a condition that a person not commit any offence is a reference to any offence whether committed in New South Wales or in any other State or Territory, and

a reference to an obligation that a person not commit any offence is a reference to any offence whether committed in New South Wales or in any other State or Territory.

Notes in the text of this Act do not form part of this Act.

The purposes for which a court may impose a sentence on an offender are as follows—

to ensure that the offender is adequately punished for the offence,

to prevent crime by deterring the offender and other persons from committing similar offences,

to protect the community from the offender,

to promote the rehabilitation of the offender,

to make the offender accountable for his or her actions,

to denounce the conduct of the offender,

to recognise the harm done to the victim of the crime and the community.

The penalty to be imposed for an offence is to be the penalty provided by or under this or any other Act or law.

The penalty to be imposed for a statutory offence for which no penalty is so provided is imprisonment for 5 years.

Part 3 applies to the imposition of all penalties imposed by a court, whether under this Act or otherwise.

If a court finds a person guilty of a domestic violence offence, the court must impose on the person either—

a sentence of full-time detention, or

a supervised order.

However, the court is not required to impose either of those sentencing options if the court is satisfied that a different sentencing option is more appropriate in the circumstances and gives reasons for reaching that view.

For the purposes of this section, a supervised order is an order (being an intensive correction order, community correction order or conditional release order) that is subject to a supervision condition.

An intensive correction order must not be made in respect of—

a sentence of imprisonment for a domestic violence offence, or

an aggregate sentence of imprisonment for 2 or more offences, any 1 or more of which is a domestic violence offence,

unless the sentencing court is satisfied that the victim of the domestic violence offence, and any person with whom the offender is likely to reside, will be adequately protected (whether by conditions of the intensive correction order or for some other reason).

If the sentencing court finds a person guilty of a domestic violence offence, the court must not impose a home detention condition if the court reasonably believes that the offender will reside with the victim of the domestic violence offence.

Before making a community correction order or conditional release order in respect of a person whom the sentencing court finds guilty of a domestic violence offence, the court must consider the safety of the victim of the offence.

A court must not sentence an offender to imprisonment unless it is satisfied, having considered all possible alternatives, that no penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate.

A court that sentences an offender to imprisonment for 6 months or less must indicate to the offender, and make a record of, its reasons for doing so, including—

its reasons for deciding that no penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate, and

its reasons for deciding not to make an order allowing the offender to participate in an intervention program or other program for treatment or rehabilitation (if the offender has not previously participated in such a program in respect of the offence for which the court is sentencing the offender).

Subsection (2) does not limit any other requirement that a court has, apart from that subsection, to record the reasons for its decisions.

A sentence of imprisonment is not invalidated by a failure to comply with this section.

Part 4 applies to all sentences of imprisonment, including any sentence the subject of an intensive correction order.

The Drug Court may make an order under Part 2A of the Drug Court Act 1998 directing that an offender, who is an eligible convicted offender within the meaning of that Act, serve a sentence of imprisonment by way of compulsory drug treatment detention.

A court that has sentenced an offender to imprisonment in respect of 1 or more offences may make an intensive correction order directing that the sentence or sentences be served by way of intensive correction in the community.

If the court makes an intensive correction order directing that a sentence of imprisonment be served by way of intensive correction in the community, the court is not to set a non-parole period for the sentence.

This section does not apply to an offender who is under the age of 18 years.

This section is subject to the provisions of Part 5.

Note.

Among other matters, Part 5 provides that a single offence cannot be the subject of an intensive correction order if the imprisonment imposed exceeds 2 years, and that multiple offences cannot be the subject of an intensive correction order or orders if the imprisonment imposed exceeds 3 years.

Instead of imposing a sentence of imprisonment on an offender, a court that has convicted a person of an offence may make a community correction order in relation to the offender.

A community service work condition must not be imposed on a community correction order made in relation to an offender to whom the Children (Community Service Orders) Act 1987 applies.

This section is subject to the provisions of Part 7.