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Principles and Purposes

Part 2 of the Sentencing Act 1991 outlines the principles that govern sentencing in Victoria. These principles include:

• the purposes of sentencing
• the principle of parsimony (a court should impose the least severe sentence required to meet the purposes of sentencing)
• the factors that must be considered when imposing a sentence
• the factors that may be considered in determining an offender’s character.

Section 5 of the Sentencing Act 1991 sets out the purposes of sentencing:

• just punishment – to punish the offender to an extent and in a way that is just in all of the circumstances
• deterrence – to deter the offender (specific deterrence) or other people (general deterrence) from committing offences of the same or a similar character
• rehabilitation – to establish conditions that the court considers will enable the offender's rehabilitation
• denunciation – to denounce the type of conduct engaged in by the offender
• community protection – to protect the community from the offender
• a combination of two or more of the purposes.

For young offenders, rehabilitation is the principal consideration in sentencing. Section 362(1) of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 outlines the following matters which must be taken into account when sentencing:

• the need to strengthen and preserve the relationship between the child and the child's family
• the desirability of allowing the child to live at home
• the desirability of allowing the education, training or employment of the child to continue without interruption or disturbance
• the need to minimise the stigma to the child resulting from a court determination
• the suitability of the sentence to the child
• if appropriate, the need to ensure that the child is aware that he or she must bear a responsibility for any action by him or her against the law
• if appropriate, the need to protect the community, or any person, from the violent or other wrongful acts of the child.