Local Court Bench Book — Specific Penalties and Orders

Note:

Some of the tables of maximum penalties are populated using Lawcodes data. For more information, see Changes to Specific Penalties and Orders at the end of this introduction.

The purpose of this section is to set out the most common offences dealt with, and orders made by, the Local Court under NSW Acts and regulations.

There are two types of offences dealt with in the Local Court — summary offences and indictable offences dealt with summarily.

The maximum penalties that the Local Court may impose for these offences under particular Acts and regulations are set out in the penalties tables below. A number of Acts contain provisions that set maximum penalties that may be imposed by the Local Court. Where as a consequence of the application of such a provision, a penalty is lower than that provided for under the particular offence provision, an asterisk appears next to the penalty and there is a reference to the limiting provision below the penalties table.

The distinction between the maximum penalty for an offence and the jurisdictional limit of the Local Court for a particular offence is important when the court is dealing with an indictable offence summarily. An appropriate sentence, taking into account any discount for the guilty plea, assistance etc, is to be assessed by reference to the maximum penalty for the offence. The relevant jurisdictional limit is applied after the appropriate sentence for the offence has been determined: Park v The Queen (2021) 273 CLR 303 at [2], [19]–[23]; see also Park v R [2020] NSWCCA 90 at [22]–[35]; [182]; R v Doan (2000) 50 NSWLR 115 at [35].

Indictable offences

Subject to any law or practice that provides for an indictable offence to be dealt with summarily, indictable offences are punishable by information (an indictment) in the Supreme Court or the District Court, on behalf of the Crown, in the name of the Attorney General or the Director of Public Prosecutions: s 8 Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (CP Act).

Where the penalty for an indictable offence is a term of imprisonment only, a court may impose a fine not exceeding 1000 pu on an offender whom it convicts on indictment and the fine may be imposed in addition to, or instead of, any other penalty that may be imposed for the offence: s 15(2), (3) Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.

In many instances, indictable offences may be dealt with summarily. For the purposes of comparison, in a number of the penalties tables below the maximum penalties for offences dealt with on indictment have been included in square brackets below the maximum penalty for those offences which may be dealt with summarily.

Summary offences

A summary offence is an offence that is not an indictable offence: s 3 CP Act. Subject to a contrary provision, an offence that is permitted or required to be dealt with summarily is to be dealt with by the Local Court: s 7(1).

The following offences must be dealt with summarily (s 6):

Time limit

Subject to the provisions of any other Act which specify another period within which proceedings for summary offences may be instituted, such proceedings must be commenced not later than 6 months from when the offence was alleged to have been committed: s 179 CP Act.

Indictable offences dealt with summarily

Chapter 5 CP Act requires that the indictable offences listed in Tables 1 and 2 of Sch 1 CP Act be dealt with summarily by the Local Court unless:

Section 259 CP Act provides that all the offences listed in Tables 1 and 2 are indictable offences, subject to the provisions in Ch 5.

Time limit

There is no time limit for offences dealt with summarily under Ch 5: s 270 CP Act.

Table 1 offences

Section 267 CP Act prescribes the maximum penalty that may be imposed for an indictable offence listed in Table 1 dealt with summarily under Ch 5 in any case where the maximum penalty (when the offence is dealt with summarily) is not provided for:

The maximum penalty the Local Court may impose for:

is the same as the Local Court may impose for the offence concerned: s 267(4B) CP Act.

Table 1 offences are included in the penalties tables below.

Table 2 offences

Section 268 prescribes the maximum penalty that may be imposed for an indictable offence listed in Table 2 dealt with summarily under Ch 5 in any case where the maximum penalty (when the offence is dealt with summarily) is not provided by law:

The maximum penalty the Local Court may impose for:

is the same as the Local Court may impose for the offence concerned: s 268(2A) CP Act.

Table 2 offences are indicated in the penalties tables below under the relevant provision.