Sentencing Act 2017

Subject to this Act or any other Act that prohibits the substitution or mitigation of a penalty prescribed under the Act, if, on convicting a defendant or finding a defendant guilty of an offence and after having regard to—

the character, antecedents, age, or physical or mental condition, of the defendant; or

the fact that the offence was trifling; or

any other extenuating circumstances, the court thinks that good reason exists for reducing the penalty below the minimum, the court may so reduce the penalty.

Subject to this Act or any other Act that prohibits the substitution or mitigation of a penalty prescribed under the Act, if, on convicting a defendant or finding a defendant guilty of an offence, the court thinks that good reason exists for departing from the penalty provided for the offence under the Act, the court may—

impose another type of sentence for the sentence prescribed under the Act for the offence; or

impose more than 1 type of sentence as the court thinks appropriate in the circumstances.

For the purposes of subsection (2)—

if the Act prescribes a sentence of imprisonment only for the offence, the court may instead impose—

a sentence of imprisonment (including a community based custodial sentence or a suspended sentence); or

a fine; or

a sentence of community service; or

both a fine and a sentence of community service; or

if the Act prescribes a sentence of both imprisonment and a fine for the offence, the court may instead impose—

a sentence of imprisonment (including a community based custodial sentence or a suspended sentence) only; or

a fine only; or

a sentence of community service; or

both a fine and a sentence of community service; or

if the Act prescribes a sentence of imprisonment or a fine in the alternative for the offence, the court may instead impose—

a sentence of community service; or

both a fine and a sentence of community service; or

if the Act prescribes a fine only for the offence, the court may instead impose a sentence of community service.

In this section—

Act includes a statutory instrument;

community based custodial sentence means—

a sentence on home detention under a home detention order;

or

a sentence to be served in the community while subject to intensive correction under an intensive correction order;

suspended sentence means a sentence of imprisonment that is suspended on condition that the defendant enter into a bond under Part 4Division 2.