Why Is Australia's Nine Sentencing

Australia has nine sentencing jurisdictions with each jurisdiction possessing its own criminal justice system. Federal, state and territory criminal legislation generally specify offences with a prescribed maximum penalty which allows a court to determine an appropriate punishment in the particular circumstances of that case. In recent years, the Australian Parliament has increased proclaimed power over sentencing, setting a fixed or consistent penalty for committing a certain offence. This upsurge suggests that there is a public desire for tougher sentencing laws and dissatisfaction in the community with the traditional sentencing system where courts have had a broad discretion to punish offenders.

The results from a national Australian survey on public opinions towards sentencing shows that the majority of respondents expressed high levels of dissatisfaction and were displeased with sentences that are imposed by the courts. These views can be exhibited by the media and their portrayal. An example of this is that newspapers often publish letters to the editor and opinion articles criticising judges for lenient sentences. In 2012, BOCSAR published the results of a public opinion survey. The results suggested that the majority of people, 59%, thought that sentencing was either a little too lenient or much too lenient.
In addition, the principles of sentencing established by common law and legislation must be applied in each case including the principle that imprisonment is only enforced when no other punishment is appropriate, the punishment must fit the crime and similar crimes should receive similar sentences. Introducing mandatory consistent sentencing standards would conflict with the judge’s ability to oversee specific circumstances of a case and to enforce a just