Application of the Act
[2-000] Short statutory history
The Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (the Act) implemented a number of significant changes that were recommended by the NSW Law Reform Commission in its report on sentencing: Sentencing, Report 79, Sydney, 1996.
When it was introduced, the principal objective of the Act was to rationalise and consolidate sentencing law. The Sentencing Act 1989, Community Service Orders Act 1979, Periodic Detention of Prisoners Act 1981 and Home Detention Act 1996 were repealed, and their contents amalgamated with sentencing provisions previously contained in the Crimes Act 1900, Criminal Procedure Act 1986 and (since repealed) Justices Act 1902. But as Spigelman CJ remarked in R v Carrion (2000) 49 NSWLR 149 at [15], the Act “… is in large measure a consolidating Act, but it is not only a consolidating Act”.
Since its introduction the Act has been repeatedly amended. The notable amendments to date include the insertion of s 21A (aggravating, mitigating and other factors in sentencing), Pt 4 Div 1A (standard non-parole periods), and the widescale reform of sentencing options that commenced on 24 September 2018.
[2-010] Primacy of the Act
The primacy of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 in sentencing law has been recognised by the Court of Criminal Appeal as:
… provid[ing] the framework upon which a court determines the sentence to be imposed upon a particular offender for any offence. The Act provides the sentencing practice, principles and penalty options that operate in all courts exercising State jurisdiction. There are also the sentencing principles and practices derived from the common law and that have been preserved by the provisions of the Act: Application by the Attorney General under Section 37 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act for a Guideline Judgment Concerning the Offence of High Range Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol Under Section 9(4) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 (No. 3 of 2002) (2004) 61 NSWLR 305 per Howie J at [45].