Maximum Penalty

The maximum penalty for an offence is prescribed by Parliament in the Act that creates the offence, such as in the Crimes Act 1900, Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence Act) 2007 or the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985. A maximum penalty is exactly as it sounds; it is the upper amount of penalty units that can be imposed for the offence or the maximum period of time that a person can be imprisoned for the offence.

The maximum penalty provides a sentencing ‘yardstick’ for Magistrates and Judges to gauge the community attitudes towards and Parliament’s assessment of the seriousness of the criminalised conduct.

Maximum penalties are reserved for the worst cases or those offences that fall into the worst category.

An important factor which impacts the availability of the maximum penalty is which Court is sentencing the offender. The Local Court of New South Wales is subject to a jurisdictional limit when setting terms of imprisonment, being a maximum of 2 years for one offence and three years for multiple offences. In the District and Supreme Court of New South Wales there is no jurisdictional limit meaning the offender is exposed to receiving the maximum penalty on sentence.