Sentencing Act 2002
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 1 — Title
1 Title This Act is the Sentencing Act 2002.
Section Sch1-“ 198 — Liable person doing community work to be discharged on payment
“ 198 Liable person doing community work to be discharged on payment “ (1) If a liable person is doing community work under an order made under section 196(1), the person may pay, or cause to be…
Section Sch1-“ 67G — Sentence of community work
“ 67G Sentence of community work A court may sentence any person who commits an offence against this Act to a sentence of community work and the provisions of Part 2 of the Sentencing Act 2002 apply…
Section 2 — Commencement
2 Commencement This Act comes into force on a date to be appointed by the Governor-General by Order in Council.
Section Sch2 — Enactments repealed
Schedule 2 Enactments repealed s 187 Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Amendment Act 1994 (1994 No 121) Section 39 . Crimes Amendment Act (No 3) 1993 (1993 No 62) Section 3. Criminal…
Section 3 — Purposes
3 Purposes The purposes of this Act are— (a) to set out the purposes for which offenders may be sentenced or otherwise dealt with; and (b) to promote those purposes, and aid in the public's…
Section 4 — Interpretation
4 Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— commencement date means the date specified in section 2 community-based sentence has the meaning given to it in section 44…
Section 5 — Application of this Act
5 Application of this Act (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) , this Act binds the Crown. (2) This Act does not apply to proceedings under the Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971 , or to…
Section 6 — Penal enactments not to have retrospective effect to disadvantage of offender
6 Penal enactments not to have retrospective effect to disadvantage of offender (1) An offender has the right, if convicted of an offence in respect of which the penalty has been varied between the…
Section 6A — Application of sentencing guidelines
6A Application of sentencing guidelines
Section 7 — Purposes of sentencing or otherwise dealing with offenders
7 Purposes of sentencing or otherwise dealing with offenders (1) The purposes for which a court may sentence or otherwise deal with an offender are— (a) to hold the offender accountable for harm done…
Section 8 — Principles of sentencing or otherwise dealing with offenders
8 Principles of sentencing or otherwise dealing with offenders In sentencing or otherwise dealing with an offender the court— (a) must take into account the gravity of the offending in the particular…
Section 9 — Aggravating and mitigating factors
9 Aggravating and mitigating factors (1) In sentencing or otherwise dealing with an offender the court must take into account the following aggravating factors to the extent that they are applicable…
Section 10 — Court must take into account offer, agreement, response, or measure to make amends
10 Court must take into account offer, agreement, response, or measure to make amends (1) In sentencing or otherwise dealing with an offender the court must take into account— (a) any offer of…
Section 10A — Hierarchy of sentences and orders
10A Hierarchy of sentences and orders (1) The hierarchy of sentences and orders set out in subsection (2) reflects the relative level of supervision and monitoring of, and restrictions imposed on, an…
Section 11 — Discharge or order to come up for sentence if called on
11 Discharge or order to come up for sentence if called on (1) If a person who is charged with an offence is found guilty, or pleads guilty, before entering a conviction and imposing a sentence the…
Section 12 — Reparation
12 Reparation (1) If a court is lawfully entitled under Part 2 to impose a sentence of reparation, it must impose it unless it is satisfied that the sentence would result in undue hardship for the…
Section 13 — Sentence of fine
13 Sentence of fine (1) If a court is lawfully entitled under this or any other enactment to impose a fine in addition to, or instead of, any other sentence, the court must regard a fine as the…
Section 14 — Reparation, fines, and financial capacity of offender
14 Reparation, fines, and financial capacity of offender (1) Even if it would be appropriate in accordance with section 13 to impose a fine, a court may nevertheless decide not to impose a fine if it…
Section 15 — Community-based sentence
15 Community-based sentence (1) If a court is lawfully entitled under this or any other enactment to impose a community-based sentence or a fine, or both, it may impose a community-based sentence…
Section 15A — Sentence of home detention
15A Sentence of home detention (1) If a court is lawfully entitled under this or any other enactment to impose a sentence of home detention, it may impose a sentence of home detention only if— (a)…
Section 15B — Limitation on sentence of home detention for person under 17 years
15B Limitation on sentence of home detention for person under 17 years (1) No court may impose a sentence of home detention on an offender in respect of a particular offence, other than a purely…
Section 16 — Sentence of imprisonment
16 Sentence of imprisonment (1) When considering the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment for any particular offence, the court must have regard to the desirability of keeping offenders in the…
Section 17 — Imprisonment may be imposed if offender unlikely to comply with other sentences
17 Imprisonment may be imposed if offender unlikely to comply with other sentences Nothing in this Part limits the discretion of a court to impose a sentence of imprisonment on an offender if the…
Section 18 — Limitation on imprisonment of person under 17 years
18 Limitation on imprisonment of person under 17 years (1) No court may impose a sentence of imprisonment on an offender in respect of a particular offence, other than a purely indictable offence,…
Section 19 — Permitted combinations of sentences
19 Permitted combinations of sentences (1) No court may impose a combination of sentences of different types on an offender in respect of 1 or more offences except as provided in this section. (2) A…
Section 20 — Guidance on use of combinations of sentences
20 Guidance on use of combinations of sentences (1) A court may impose a particular combination of sentences on an offender only if satisfied that any of the sentences making up the combination, if…
Section 21 — Effect of provisions concerning multiple sentences on powers of court
21 Effect of provisions concerning multiple sentences on powers of court Nothing in sections 19 and 20 — (a) empowers a court to impose any sentence that it would not otherwise be empowered to…
Section 21A — Court must adhere to sentencing guidelines
21A Court must adhere to sentencing guidelines
Section 22 — No sentence may be cumulative on non-association order
22 No sentence may be cumulative on non-association order No sentence of any kind may be imposed cumulatively on a non-association order. Compare: 1985 No 120 s 28B(2)
Section 23 — No sentence may be cumulative on indeterminate sentence of imprisonment
23 No sentence may be cumulative on indeterminate sentence of imprisonment No sentence of any kind may be imposed cumulatively on an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment.
Section 24 — Proof of facts
24 Proof of facts (1) In determining a sentence or other disposition of the case, a court— (a) may accept as proved any fact that was disclosed by evidence at the hearing or trial and any facts…
Section 25 — Power of adjournment for inquiries as to suitable punishment
25 Power of adjournment for inquiries as to suitable punishment (1) A court may adjourn the proceedings in respect of any offence after the offender has been found guilty or has pleaded guilty and…
Section 26 — Pre-sentence reports
26 Pre-sentence reports (1) If an offender who is charged with an offence punishable by imprisonment is found guilty or pleads guilty, the court may direct a probation officer to provide a report to…
Section 26A — Additional requirements when considering sentence of community detention or home detention
26A Additional requirements when considering sentence of community detention or home detention (1) If the court has directed a probation officer to provide a pre-sentence report under section 26 ,…
Section 27 — Offender may request court to hear person on personal, family, whanau, community, and cultural background of offender
27 Offender may request court to hear person on personal, family, whanau, community, and cultural background of offender (1) If an offender appears before a court for sentencing, the offender may…
Section 28 — Disclosure of reports
28 Disclosure of reports (1) If a written report is submitted to a court, whether under section 26 or section 33 or otherwise, a copy of the report must be given,— (a) except as provided in…
Section 29 — Access to reports
29 Access to reports (1) The following persons may have access to any report submitted to a court under section 26 or section 33 , and held by the court: (a) the manager or other person in charge of…
Section 30 — No sentence of imprisonment to be imposed without opportunity for legal representation
30 No sentence of imprisonment to be imposed without opportunity for legal representation (1) No court may impose a sentence of imprisonment on an offender who has not been legally represented at the…
Section 31 — General requirement to give reasons
31 General requirement to give reasons (1) A court must give reasons in open court— (a) for the imposition of a sentence or for any other means of dealing with the offender; and (b) for the making of…
Section 32 — Sentence of reparation
32 Sentence of reparation (1) A court may impose a sentence of reparation if an offender has, through or by means of an offence of which the offender is convicted, caused a person to suffer— (a) loss…
Section 33 — Court may order reparation report
33 Court may order reparation report (1) If the court considers that a sentence of reparation may be appropriate, the court may order a probation officer, or any other person designated by the court…
Section 34 — Reparation reports
34 Reparation reports (1) A probation officer or other person who is required by a court to prepare a report under section 33 must attempt to gain agreement between the offender and the person who…
Section 35 — Taking into account financial capacity of offender
35 Taking into account financial capacity of offender (1) If the offender has insufficient means to pay the total value of the loss, damage, or harm, the court may sentence the offender to make— (a)…
Section 36 — Conditions of sentence of reparation
36 Conditions of sentence of reparation (1) If a court sentences an offender to make reparation, the court must determine the conditions of the sentence in respect of the following matters: (a) the…
Section 37 — Copy of conditions of reparation to be given to person who suffered harm, loss, or damage
37 Copy of conditions of reparation to be given to person who suffered harm, loss, or damage (1) A copy of the conditions of a sentence of reparation must be given to the person who suffered the…
Section 38 — Payment of sums to person who suffered harm, loss, or damage
38 Payment of sums to person who suffered harm, loss, or damage (1) Every sum payable under a sentence of reparation must be paid to the person who suffered the harm, loss, or damage, or, with that…
Section 39 — Power to impose fine instead of imprisonment, sentence of home detention, or community-based sentence
39 Power to impose fine instead of imprisonment, sentence of home detention, or community-based sentence (1) If an enactment provides that a court may sentence an offender to imprisonment but does…
Section 40 — Determining amount of fine
40 Determining amount of fine (1) In determining the amount of a fine, the court must take into account, in addition to the provisions of sections 7 to 10 , the financial capacity of the offender.…
Section 41 — Financial capacity of offender
41 Financial capacity of offender (1) If the court considers that a fine of less than $100 may be an appropriate sentence, it may assume that the offender has the means to pay the fine unless…