Sentencing Bench Book — Penalties that may be imposed

(1) 

The penalty:

(a) 

specified at the end of a section of an Act (whether or not the section is divided into subsections), or

(b) 

specified at the end of a subsection of a section of an Act, but not at the end of the section, or

(c) 

specified at the end of a section of an Act or subsection of a section of an Act and expressed in such a way as to indicate that it applies to part only of the section or subsection,

indicates that a contravention of the section, subsection or part, respectively, is an offence against the Act, punishable on conviction by a penalty not exceeding the penalty so specified.

(2) 

For the purposes of subsection (1), a penalty specified at the end of the last subsection of a section is taken not to be specified at the end of the section if a penalty is specified at the end of any previous subsection.

(3) 

If:

(a) 

a section of an Act, or a subsection of a section of an Act, provides that a person is guilty of an offence under specified circumstances, and

(b) 

a penalty is specified at the end of the section or subsection and expressed in such a way as to indicate that it applies to the section or subsection,

a person who is guilty of such an offence is liable, on conviction, to a penalty not exceeding the penalty so specified.

(4) 

This section applies to a statutory rule in the same way as it applies to an Act, subject to any necessary modification.

(5) 

This section applies to a provision of an Act or statutory rule except in so far as the contrary intention appears in the Act or statutory rule concerned.

(1) 

If an Act or statutory rule increases the penalty for an offence, the increased penalty applies only to offences committed after the commencement of the provision of the Act or statutory rule increasing the penalty.

(2) 

If an Act or statutory rule reduces the penalty for an offence, the reduced penalty extends to offences committed before the commencement of the provision of the Act or statutory rule reducing the penalty, but the reduction does not affect any penalty imposed before that commencement.

(3) 

In this section, a reference to a penalty includes a reference to a penalty that is expressed to be a maximum or minimum penalty.

If an act or omission constitutes:

(a) 

an offence under a law of New South Wales, and

(b) 

an offence under a law of the Commonwealth or of some other State or Territory,

and a penalty has been imposed on the offender in respect of the offence referred to in paragraph (b), the offender is not liable to any penalty in respect of the offence referred to in paragraph (a).

(1) 

If by any provision of an Act an offender is made liable to imprisonment for life, a court may nevertheless impose a sentence of imprisonment for a specified term.

(2) 

If by any provision of an Act or statutory rule an offender is made liable to imprisonment for a specified term, a court may nevertheless impose a sentence of imprisonment for a lesser term.

(3) 

If by any provision of an Act or statutory rule an offender is made liable to a fine of a specified amount, a court may nevertheless impose a fine of a lesser amount.

(4) 

The power conferred on a court by this section is not limited by any other provision of this Part.

(5) 

This section does not limit any discretion that the court has, apart from this section, in relation to the imposition of penalties.