Section 10

In effect, by section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) (“section 10”) an offender may be dealt with without conviction despite a finding of guilt or pleading guilty to an offence.

This essentially means that even though the court finds the offender guilty of an offence or the offender pleads guilty to an offence the court may nonetheless decide that the offender will not have any conviction for the offence recorded on their criminal record.

Section 10 provides three orders the court may make in the event it decides not to convict an offender:

• Dismiss the charge.
• Discharge the person under a conditional release order.
• Discharge the person on condition of participation in an intervention program.

In deciding whether to deal with an offender pursuant to section 10(1) of the Crimes (sentencing procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) court will have regard to factors including:

• The person’s character, mental condition, age and health.
• The person’s criminal history.
• Whether the person’s offending was trivial in nature.

It is not so easy as some may suggest for an offender to be dealt with pursuant to section 10, even where the offender is previously of good character. In turn, in some cases, it is clearly the case that the court will likely not consider it appropriate to deal with an offender pursuant to section 10.

We have considerable experience in having offenders dealt with pursuant to section 10.