Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

The Sentencing Amendment Act (No 2) 2006 amended the Sentencing Act
with regard to measures for the management of community sentences during
an epidemic.
Sentencing Amendment Act 2007
The Sentencing Amendment Act 2007 established home detention as a
sentence in its own right (rather than a way of serving a term of
imprisonment). It also introduced two new community based sentences:
community detention and intensive supervision. An amendment to 93(2B)
excludes residential restrictions from the Special Conditions which can be
imposed on prisoners serving short sentences (12 months or less).
Sentencing Council Act 2007
The Sentencing Council Act 2007 established a Sentencing Council to
develop sentencing guidelines. This Council disbanded following the change
of government in 2008.
Sentencing (Offences Against Children) Amendment Act 2008
The Sentencing (Offences Against Children) Amendment Act 2008 inserted a
new section to the Sentencing Act to provide guidance to the court when
sentencing for offending against children involving violence or neglect. The
new section lists factors to be considered alongside the factors already
provided for in section 9 of the Sentencing Act.
Sentencing Amendment Act 2009
The Sentencing Amendment Act 2009 established a regime for the
confiscation of criminal assets through the civil courts.
Sentencing (Offender Levy) Amendment Act 2009
This Amendment provided that all offenders convicted of an offence must pay
an offender levy of $50. The amount of the levy may be changed by
regulation. The levy is in addition to any other penalty that the criminal courts
may impose, such as imprisonment, community service, a fine, or reparation
to be paid to any victim. The courts are not to consider whether or not the levy
will cause hardship, which is a consideration associated with a sentence
involving reparation, or to consider the levy when taking into account the
financial capacity of the offender in determining the amount of a fine.
If the court imposes on an offender a sentence of reparation or a fine, or both,
the payments received from the offender will be used first to pay the
reparation owed, then the offender levy and then the fine.
Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010
126