Section 17B — Crimes Act 1914: Restriction on imposing sentences for certain minor offences

(1) If: (a) a person is convicted of one or more section 17B offences relating to property, money or both, whose total value is not more than $2,000; and (b) the person has not previously been sentenced to imprisonment for any federal, State or Territory offence; the court convicting the person is not to pass a sentence of imprisonment for that offence, or for any of those offences, unless the court is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances that warrant it. (2) In calculating the total value for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), a section 17B offence which the court, with the consent of the person charged, has taken into account in passing sentence on the person for another federal offence (whether a section 17B offence or not) is taken to be an offence of which the person is convicted. (3) In this section: section 17B offence means an offence against section 29 of this Act, an offence against section 131.1, 132.1, 132.6, 132.7, 134.1, 134.2, 135.1, 135.2, 135.4, 145.4 or 145.5 of the Criminal Code or an offence against a provision of a federal law prescribed for the purposes of this section.