Factsheet
Transforming Criminal Justice
New Sentencing
Principles and Options
Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988 (SA) Review Part 2
The Sentencing Bill 2016 (the Bill) has been released for public consultation.
The Bill proposes further enhancements to the sentencing principles and
options available to a court under the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988.
This fact sheet outlines a number of
This primary consideration is new. These
proposed changes to how criminal offenders
secondary considerations reflect the current
are sentenced in court, including:
law, but systematise it and make it transparent.
• New sentencing principles
• Changes to victim compensation
• New sentencing options
New sentencing principles
The Bill changes the factors that a court must
consider when making sentencing decisions.
These changes reflect important feedback
from the community and sector, following
consultation on the earlier Sentencing (First
Principles) Bill 2015.
Under proposed changes, the new primary
consideration of a court in sentencing is the
protection of the safety of the community.
Secondary considerations include promoting
rehabilitation, publically denouncing behaviour,
ensuring the defendant is punished and held
accountable and recognising the harm done to
the community and to any victim.
Compensation for victims
Under current law, criminal offenders can be
ordered to provide compensation to victims.
Currently, property from convicted offenders
can be seized only if it is proceeds of the
crime, or unexplained wealth.
The Bill proposes better ways to enforce
compensation orders that have been made
by a court. These changes apply specifically
to “offences of dishonesty”.
Many dishonesty offenders have insufficient
means to satisfy orders for compensation,
but this may not always be true. Some major
fraud offenders will have assets.
The suggested changes allow the restraint and
seizure of all or any of the offender’s property
and wealth, whether or not it was earned
legitimately. This measure will be a significant
advance in victim’s rights in some cases.
Factsheet
New sentencing options
If the offender is spared such disadvantages,
The Bill proposes two new types of sentences that
they are more likely to be rehabilitated, increasing
courts can impose: community based orders and
public safety and providing better outcomes for the
intensive correction orders. This is in addition to the
whole community.
recent initiative of home detention orders.
Community based order
Community based orders replace community service
This sentencing option replaces current good
orders. They ensure that if a person has committed
behaviour bonds and community service orders.
a crime, but is not sentenced to imprisonment, strict
It allows the court to intervene with the life of an
conditions can still be applied.
offender who should not be sent to prison, but
Intensive correction orders offer an alternative to
deserves more than a fine.
serving time in prison while still having some of
A community based order means that a person who
the ‘bite’ of custody. Strict conditions ensure the
is released into the community can be subject to
community stays safe.
strict conditions.
Community protection and safety remains
For example, the offender can be ordered to
the primary objective and for many offenders,
participate in an intensive program of activity
imprisonment will remain the only option.
that includes rehabilitation, education, training
Why are we making changes?
Increase community safety
Reduce rates of reoffending
While sometimes there is no alternative to a prison
sentence, there are circumstances where people can
be more effectively rehabilitated in other ways. These
two new types of sentences focus on rehabilitation
and reducing the likelihood that a person will commit
more offences.
Short prison sentences, particularly those less than
two years, may not be long enough to effectively
rehabilitate an offender. Intensive correction orders
and restitution.
They can be required to fulfil a range of social
obligations such as going to work, performing
community service or undertaking education and
treatment programs. They may also be denied
privileges through curfews, drug and alcohol testing,
restricting contact with certain people or groups, and
by restricting their movement. Intensive correction order
An intensive correction order is available in cases
where a person has been sentenced to imprisonment
for less than two years.
are designed to offer some of the restrictions
Under the order, the offender is returned to their
of custody but spare offenders many of the
home, job and community to serve their sentence,
social disadvantages of imprisonment (such as
subject to intensive supervision and complemented
disconnection with family and community and loss
by services provided by the non-government sector
of employment and housing), thereby reducing the
and community-based rehabilitation programs.
likelihood of them offending again.
Factsheet
They are also subject to strict conditions which can
include home detention and monitoring.
• advise the corrections officer of any change to their
address or employment
An intensive correction order can be given when:
• not leave the state without prior approval.
• the court has decided that the offender should be
What about home detention?
given a sentence of imprisonment
The Statues Amendment (Home Detention) Act 2016
• the sentence of imprisonment is two years or less
was recently passed as part of the South Australian
• the court determines there is a good reason for the
Government’s ongoing work on Better Sentencing
defendant to serve the sentence in the community.
The Bill also provides that when considering whether
there are good reasons, even though a court has
decided that a custodial sentence is warranted, and
there may be a moderate to high risk of a person
re-offending, an intensive correction order may be
Options. Courts will be able to order home detention
as a stand-alone sentence, or as part of another
sentence. It is anticipated that home detention will be
an important element of intensive correction orders.
These provisions are reflected in the Bill.
worthwhile if the short prison term involved means
What happens if the offender breaches their
sentence conditions?
that there will little or limited rehabilitative effect.
It is an offence for an offender to breach a condition
The court may also require the offender to
of their order, such as breaking a curfew or not
contribute to the cost of any treatment and
attending a treatment program.
rehabilitation.
These sentencing options are designed to
apply to adult offenders.
Conditions
This consultation will remain open until Friday,
9 September 2016.
More information is available at www.agd.sa.gov.au
As part of these two new community based
Provide your feedback via
sentences, offenders can be subject to a range
>> [email protected]
of strict conditions. These conditions maintain
>> www.yourSAy.sa.gov.au
community safety and are a form of punishment.
>> Justice Sector Reform
Office for the Chief Executive
Attorney-General’s Department
An offender could be required to:
• live at a specified place
• not purchase or consume any drugs (other than for
therapeutic purposes)
• undertake community work
• undertake treatment programs
• undergo assessment and treatment for drug and
alcohol problems
• comply with assigned curfews.
What if the person commits another offence?
If an offender commits an offence that is punishable
by imprisonment, they must return to court. The
court may revoke the order, and in some cases the
person will be sent to prison.
How will offenders be supervised?
It is critical that offenders are properly supervised
during their sentence in the community. Each
offender will be supervised by a community
corrections officer and can be required to:
• report regularly to the corrections officer
GPO Box 464 ADELAIDE SA 5000
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