❓ Hon Michelle Boylan asks the Attorney General for average sentences imposed for sexually penetrating a child between 2020-2024. The Attorney General provides a table with the average custodial sentence length (in months) for charges under sections 321(2) and (7) of the Criminal Code, broken down by Children's Court and District Court.
AnsweredQoN 451Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to section 321(2) and (7) of the Criminal Code (pages 228-229), relating to imprisonment of a person who sexually penetrates a child, and I ask: (a) can the Minister table the average sentence imposed for this offence for the following years: (i) 2020; (ii) 2021; (iii) 2022; (iv) 2023; and (v) 2024?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
14 October 2025
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Attorney General
Response time
9 days
(a)
(i) to (v). Refer to Table 1 below.
Table 1 – Average custodial sentence (months) for charges under sections 321(2) and (7) of the Criminal Code between 2020 and 2024
Year
Children's Court
District Court
2020
6.5
29.2
2021
6.8
33.7
2022
7.9
25.8
2023
2.5
35.0
2024
4.7
31.5
Counting rules:
· Includes all charges where the outcome is Imprisonment, Detention or Partially Suspended Imprisonment.
· The year is the year of conviction.
· The year of conviction is not necessarily the year when the offence occurred.
· Each charge is counted once, and the custodial sentence length (in months) for that charge is taken in full.
· Sentences are treated as whole terms, no adjustments are made for concurrency, accumulation, or total effective sentences.
· The average custodial sentence is calculated across all finalised charges in each year.
(i) to (v). Refer to Table 1 below.
Table 1 – Average custodial sentence (months) for charges under sections 321(2) and (7) of the Criminal Code between 2020 and 2024
Year
Children's Court
District Court
2020
6.5
29.2
2021
6.8
33.7
2022
7.9
25.8
2023
2.5
35.0
2024
4.7
31.5
Counting rules:
· Includes all charges where the outcome is Imprisonment, Detention or Partially Suspended Imprisonment.
· The year is the year of conviction.
· The year of conviction is not necessarily the year when the offence occurred.
· Each charge is counted once, and the custodial sentence length (in months) for that charge is taken in full.
· Sentences are treated as whole terms, no adjustments are made for concurrency, accumulation, or total effective sentences.
· The average custodial sentence is calculated across all finalised charges in each year.
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