Sentencing Review 2021-2022

Nearly one in five finalised defendants in the Australian courts has at least one matter involving domestic and family violence (DFV), highlighting the significant impact of such matters on the courts' workload. DFV may be relevant to sentencing in two ways: when the courts are sentencing someone for an offence committed in the context of DFV and when they sentence a person for breaching a civil order designed to prevent such conduct. This article examines the legislation, case law and recent research in relation to both these circumstances. The article also considers serial family violence offender declarations and the benchbooks available to support judicial officers who sentence in this context and relevant recent research.