Aggregate Sentences

Published by Geoff Harrison | 13 June 2024

Section 53A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 ('the Act') allows a court to impose an aggregate sentence where the court is sentencing for more than one offence. The court is required to give an indicative sentence for each offence after taking into account any appropriate discounts that apply e.g. an offender's guilty plea as per s25D of the Act: see Acton at [39]. The court is then to consider principles of totality (concurrency, accumulation and special circumstances) before announcing the non-parole period and then the overall sentence or head sentence: see s44 of the Act.

Other Sources:

• Sentencing Bench Book: Settled Propositions Concerning s53A

• Sentencing Bench Book: Aggregate Sentences

• Sentencing Bench Book: Commonwealth Sentencing for Multiple Offences

• Use of "first required to set" in s44 does not mean "determine"

Cases:

• JM v R [2014] NSWCCA 297 at [39]

• Ibbotson (a pseudonym) v R [2020] NSWCCA 92

• Acton v R [2024] NSWCCA 92

• Pearce v R [1998] HCA 57

• R v Way [2004] NSWCCA 131 [111] - [113]

• Bojlevski v R [2024] NSWCCA 208

  
  

Extracted Legislation:

CRIMES (SENTENCING PROCEDURE) ACT 1999 - SECT 53

Multiple sentences of imprisonment

(1) When a court imposes a sentence of imprisonment on an offender in relation to more than one offence, the court must (unless imposing an aggregate sentence of imprisonment in accordance with section 53A) comply with the requirements of this Division by imposing a separate sentence in relation to each offence.

(2) The term, and any non-parole period, set under this Division in relation to a sentence of imprisonment is not revoked or varied by a later sentence of imprisonment that the same or some other court subsequently imposes in relation to another offence.

CRIMES (SENTENCING PROCEDURE) ACT 1999 - SECT 53A

Aggregate sentences of imprisonment

(1) A court may, in sentencing an offender for more than one offence, impose an aggregate sentence of imprisonment with respect to all or any 2 or more of those offences instead of imposing a separate sentence of imprisonment for each.

(2) A court that imposes an aggregate sentence of imprisonment under this section on an offender must indicate to the offender, and make a written record of, the following--

(a) the fact that an aggregate sentence is being imposed,

(b) the sentence that would have been imposed for each offence (after taking into account such matters as are relevant under Part 3 or any other provision of this Act) had separate sentences been imposed instead of an aggregate sentence.

(3) Subsection (2) does not limit any requirement that a court has, apart from that subsection, to record the reasons for its decisions.

(4) The term, and any non-parole period, set under this Division in relation to an aggregate sentence of imprisonment is not revoked or varied by a later sentence of imprisonment that the same or some other court subsequently imposes in relation to another offence.

(5) An aggregate sentence of imprisonment is not invalidated by a failure to comply with this section.

CRIMES (SENTENCING PROCEDURE) ACT 1999 - SECT 53B

Limitation on aggregate sentences imposed by Local Court

For the avoidance of doubt, the Local Court may impose an aggregate sentence of imprisonment that does not exceed 5 years.

CRIMES (SENTENCING PROCEDURE) ACT 1999 - SECT 54

Exclusions from Division

This Division does not apply to the sentencing of an offender--

(a) to imprisonment for life or for any other indeterminate period, or

(b) to imprisonment under the Habitual Criminals Act 1957, or

(c) to detention under the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020.