Review of sentencing for murder and manslaughter

On 23 November 2018, the Attorney General asked us to review sentencing for murder and manslaughter, including the penalties imposed for domestic and family violence homicides and the standard non-parole periods for murder.

Report

We transmitted our Report: Homicide to the Attorney General on 5 May 2021. It was released on 27 May 2021.

Other documents

The following documents were part of the consultation process for our Report:

• Submissions (responding to the Consultation Paper)
• Consultation Paper (PDF, 1.4 MB) (published in October 2019)
  
• Preliminary submissions (responding to the terms of reference)

Terms of reference

We received the following terms of reference on 23 November 2018:

The Sentencing Council is to review the sentencing for the offences of murder and manslaughter under sections 19A, 19B and 24 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), in particular:

• the standard non-parole periods for murder and whether they should be increased; and
• the sentences imposed for domestic and family violence related homicides.

In undertaking this review, the Sentencing Council should consider:

• sentences imposed for homicides and how these sentencing decisions compare with sentencing decisions in other Australian states and territories
• the impact of sentencing decisions on the family members of homicide victims
• the devastating impact of domestic and family violence on our community
• the application of section 61 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 in the context of life sentences imposed for murder
• the principles that courts apply when sentencing for these offences, including the sentencing principles applied in cases involving domestic and family violence; and
• any other matter the Council considers relevant.