SENTENCE LENGTH AND FINE AMOUNT

This chapter presents statistics about sentence lengths and fine amounts handed down to defendants proven guilty in all criminal courts in Australia for the period 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 for all states and territories except the Tasmanian Higher Criminal Courts, for which data are not available. Data also exclude defendants sentenced to life and indeterminate imprisonment and therefore numbers do not align with those presented in the other chapters.

Data presented refer to the principal sentence, which is the most serious sentence type imposed on a defendant, and the length or amount of this principal sentence. To provide a direct relationship between offences and sentences, the principal proven offence is then derived by taking the offence associated with this principal sentence. Where a principal sentence covers more than one offence, the sentence length or fine amount and seriousness of the offence are taken into account to select the principal proven offence.

CUSTODY IN A CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION

In 2014–15, the median sentence length for All Courts for custody in a correctional institution was 7 months. This represented a decrease of 1 month compared with 2013–14. (Table 47d in the 2014–15 issue; Table 44 in the 2013–14 issue)

In 2014–15, the median sentence length for custody in a correctional institution by court level was:

• 30 months in the Higher Courts; and
• 6 months in both the Magistrates' Courts and Children's Courts. (Table 47a-d)

New South Wales had the highest median sentence length for custody in a correctional institution (12 months) of all the states and territories at the All Courts level. The lowest was in the Northern Territory (3 months).

The median sentence lengths for the most common principal proven offences for defendants sentenced to custody in a correctional institution were:

• 8 months for Acts intended to cause injury offences;
• 12 months for Unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter offences;
• 4 months for Theft and related offences; and
• 13 months for Illicit drug offences. (Table 47d)

CUSTODY IN THE COMMUNITY

In 2014–15, the median sentence length for defendants sentenced to custody in the community was 10 months. This represented an increase of 1 month compared with 2013–14. (Table 46 in the 2014–15 issue; Table 43 in the 2013–14 issue)

The median sentence length for custody in the community by court level was:

• 20 months in the Higher Courts; and
• 9 months in both the Magistrates' and Children's Courts. (Table 46)

COMMUNITY SERVICE ORDERS

In 2014–15, the median sentence length for defendants sentenced to community service orders for All Courts was 80 hours. This remained unchanged compared with 2013–14. (Table 48 in the 2014–15 issue; Table 45 in the 2013–14 issue)

For each court level, the median sentence length for defendants sentenced to community service orders was:

• 150 hours in the Higher Courts;
• 100 hours in the Magistrates' Courts; and
• 36 hours in the Children's Courts. (Table 48)

In the Magistrates' Courts, New South Wales had the highest median sentence length for community service orders for All Courts of 120 hours while Tasmania had the lowest at 50 hours. For the remaining states and territories, the median sentence length for community service orders was:

• 100 hours in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory;
• 75 hours in South Australia; and
• 60 hours in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. (Table 48)

FINES

Nationally, the median fine imposed for those defendants given a principal sentence of a fine was $450, remaining unchanged from 2013–14. (Table 49 in the 2014–15 issue; Table 46 in the 2013–14 issue)

The principal proven offence given the highest median fine was Sexual assault and related offences ($1,000) while the lowest was $350 for Theft and related offences.

The median fine amounts for the most common principal proven offences for defendants given a principal sentence of a fine were:

• $400 for Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences, Illicit drug offences, Offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations and Public order offences; and
• $800 for Dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons. (Table 49)