Criminal Law Services

Section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) provides for a court to deal with a person who has pleaded guilty or has been found guilty of a criminal offence by not recording a conviction against the person.

In other words, if a person is charged with a criminal offence in New South Wales and pleads guilty or is found guilty, a court may exercise it’s discretion to not record a criminal conviction against that person under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW. Instead, the court may impose conditions such as a good behaviour bond, a community service order or no further penalty.

This option is available to the court when it considers that recording a criminal conviction would be disproportionate to the gravity of the offence and the personal circumstances of the offender. It is typically reserved for first-time, minor offences or offences of a trival nature, and may not be granted for serious offences or repeat offenders.

Section 10A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999(NSW) allows the court to convict the offender without imposing a penalty.

In other words, the person is convicted or found guilty but with no further penalty imposed.

This option is available to the court when it considers a bond is inappropriate because an offence is not trivial and it is inconvenient to impose any further penalty.

If you have been charged with a criminal offence, contact us today on 0413 478 367 for a free 30 minute consultation to discuss if this option is available to you.

A community correction order can be thought of as a good behaviour bond with conditions and is often used to punish offences where a term of imprisonment is too severe but are too serious to be dealt with by a fine or a conditional release order.

A community corrections order can be tailored to the needs to the individual including conditions being imposed such as supervision by community corrections, community service, engagemement with drug or alcohol rehabilitation or treatment of mental health conditions.

A community corrections order usually has a condition that the offender be of good behaviour and to not commit any further offences for the period of the order and to appear before the court when directed. If the order is breached, the offender will be directed to appear before the court to be re-sentenced for the offence to which they recieved the community corrections order.

If you have been charged with a criminal offence, contact us today on 0413 478 367 for a free 30 minute consultation to discuss if this option is available to you.

An Intensive Corrections Orer (ICO) is effectively a jail sentence in the community. It is a custodal sentence of up to two years.

Community saftey is the main consideration for the court when deciding to impose an ICO as a penalty for an offence.

Supervision on an ICO is mandatory.

The court can add certain conditons to the ICO such as home detention, electronic monitoring, curfews, community service work (up to 75 hours), drug and alcohol prohibitions, place restrictions, or non-association requirements.

An ICO is the most serious sentence an offender can serve in the commnity.

ICOs are not available for offenders who have been convicted of murder, manslaughter, sexual assault, any sexual offences against a child, offences involving the discharge of a firearm, terrorism offences, breaches of serious crime prevention orders, or breaches of public saftey orders.

If you have been charged with a criminal offence, contact us today on 0413 478 367 for a free 30 minute consultation to discuss if this option is available to you.

Section 14 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 provides for a diversion program for criminal offenders who suffer from mental illness or cognitive impairment. The program aims to divert such offenders away from the traditional criminal justice system and towards more appropriate mental health or cognitive impairment treatment options.

The diversion program provided by section 14 is designed to address the underlying mental health or cognitive impairment issues that may have contributed to the criminal behaviour of the offender.

In essence, the court diverts the offender away from the criminal justice system under section 14 of the Act, into the care of a responsible person with a treatment plan, and dismisses the charges.

If you have been charged with a criminal offence, contact us today on 0413 478 367 for a free 30 minute consultation to discuss if this option is available to you.