New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CRIMES (SENTENCING PROCEDURE) ACT 1999 - SECT 5

5 Penalties of imprisonment

(1) A court must not sentence an offender to imprisonment unless it is satisfied, having considered all possible alternatives, that no penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate.

(2) A court that sentences an offender to imprisonment for 6 months or less must indicate to the offender, and make a record of, its reasons for doing so, including--

(a) its reasons for deciding that no penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate, and

(b) its reasons for deciding not to make an order allowing the offender to participate in an intervention program or other program for treatment or rehabilitation (if the offender has not previously participated in such a program in respect of the offence for which the court is sentencing the offender).

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

(4) A sentence of imprisonment is not invalidated by a failure to comply with this section.

(5) Part 4 applies to all sentences of imprisonment, including any sentence the subject of an intensive correction order.