Sentencing Advisory Council
Glossary
| Term | Description |
| Acquittal | A finding that a person is ‘not guilty’ on a charge in a criminal case. |
| Adjourned undertaking | An order that a criminal matter is set
aside for a specified period and that the person is released on an
undertaking, under the Sentencing Act 1997 Section 7(f). The Court releases the offender on the condition that they be of good behaviour for a period of time. If the offender is of good behaviour for that period there is no further punishment. The offender may be required to return to Court during this period. If they are found to have failed to comply with the order, they may be resentenced to a more serious sentence for the original offence(s). |
| Appeal | A request made to a higher court to review a lower court’s decision. |
| Case | A collection of one or more charges filed against a person under the same complaint number. |
| Charge | A single instance of an offence. |
| Community correction order | A non-custodial sentence that sits between imprisonment and fines in the range of sentences that can be given. It is served in the community under conditions that may include unpaid community work, alcohol and drug bans, participation in treatment and rehabilitation programs and/or restrictions on where the offender can go or live, or with whom they can associate (spend time with). |
| Community Corrections | Offices across Tasmania involved in the management and supervision of offenders on community correction orders and parole. |
| Community service order (legacy) | A former sentencing option under Section
7(c) of the Sentencing Act 1997, requiring the offender to perform unpaid
community service under the supervision of Community Corrections. This order is now a legacy provision, as community service orders have been replaced by Community Correction Orders community service component under updated legislation. |
| Demerit Points | A penalty under the Vehicle and Traffic
Act 1999. Demerit points are recorded against the offender's Driver's
Licence. Read more in the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999 Sections 19F-26. |
| Discharged (Method of Finalisation) | Discharged as a Finalisation Method means the charge (e.g., fail to answer summons to witness) is closed without a conviction or penalty because the court decided not to proceed. The person is released from any obligation related to that charge, and the matter is finalised. |
| Discharged (SA 7g) | An order recording a conviction but also releasing the offender without any conditions. |
| Dismissed (SA 7h) | Dismissing a charge without recording a conviction |
| Driving disqualification | A court-ordered penalty under the Vehicle and Traffic Act 1999, served as a suspension or cancellation of your licence, imposed for serious traffic offences or accumulated demerit points |
| Drug treatment order (DTO) | A prison sentence that is suspended (held back) so offenders can have treatment in the community for their addiction. |
| DTO custodial sentence | A Drug Treatment Order (DTO) in Tasmania is a custodial sentence in which a term of imprisonment is imposed by the court but held "on hold" while the participant engages in a court-mandated diversion program to address their underlying drug use. It often called Custodial Component under SA 27E1a. |
| Fine | A sum of money payable by an offender to the State of Tasmania on the order of a court. |
| Global sentence | Global sentence (or global order) refers to one sentence order imposed for all offences when an offender is convicted of multiple offences. This is also called a general sentence. |
| Home detention order | An order that means that a person must live in specified premises (their home or other place as required by the court). A home detention order will say when a person must be at the home detention premises. The maximum period of a home detention order is 18 months. It may have other conditions attached, including electronic monitoring, alcohol bans, judicial monitoring and treatment conditions. |
| Imprisonment | A sentence made under the Sentencing Act 1997 Section 7(a). This sentence requires the offender to spend time in prison. |
| Imprisonment (balance suspended) | A court orders where an offender serves an initial period of imprisonment, and the remaining balance of the sentence is suspended, provided they adhere to specific court-imposed conditions in the community. |
| Imprisonment (no suspension) | A court orders an offender must serve the full jail term in prison immediately, with no possibility of serving it in the community under supervision. |
| Imprisonment (partially suspended) | A court orders an offender to serve part of a prison term immediately and suspends the rest for a set period (operational period) |
| Imprisonment (wholly suspended) | A suspended sentence where a person is not required to serve any of the period of imprisonment as long as the offender does not offend again within a given period and complies with any other conditions of the order. |
| Mariner's Disqualification | A legal penalty imposed through a disqualification order. Such an order prohibits an individual from holding or using a mariner’s certificate. |
| Method of Finalisation | Method of finalisation refers to the way
in which a defendant’s case(s) is finalised by the courts and the case(s)
ceases to be an item of work for that particular court level (within the
reference period). Finalisations are generally classified into three categories: 1. Adjudicated Finalisation – The court has made a determination on the charges (e.g., defendant enters a guilty plea). 2. Transfer of Charges Between Court Levels – The case is moved to a different court level for further proceedings (e.g., committed for trial). 3. Non-Adjudicated Finalisation – The case concludes without a judicial decision on the charges (e.g., defendant is deceased).For more details, see Method of Finalisation Classification from Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) |
| Offence | Offences are classified by their statutory reference and charge description. |
| Offender | A person who has been found guilty of an offence, or who has pleaded guilty to an offence (has admitted the facts of an offence). |
| Offender Registration Order (on conviction) | A court order made under the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 (Tas) when a person is convicted of a prescribed offence. It requires the offender to comply with reporting obligations for a specified period. |
| Order component | Community Correction Orders (CCOs)'s core
components: 1. Supervision Component – The offender must attend regular appointments with a Probation Officer. 2. Community Service Component – The offender performs unpaid work (up to 240 hours) under supervision, referred to as CSO Hours in SAC Stats. |
| Party type | A classification that identifies whether a party involved in a transaction or legal proceeding is a person, a group, or an organisation. |
| Principal sentence | The main sentence type for an offender. This is the most serious sentence imposed. |
| Probation order (legacy) | A sentencing option under Section 7(d) of
the Sentencing Act 1997, requiring the offender to be supervised by a
Probation Officer. Supervision could include activities aimed at reducing the
risk of re-offending. This order is now a legacy provision, as probation orders have been replaced by Community Correction Orders (CCOs) supervision component under updated legislation. |
| Recognisance | An order made under Section 20(1)(a) or Section
20(1)(b) of the Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914. These orders can only be made
for offences against Commonwealth law (also known as federal offences), not
Tasmanian state law. The Court releases the offender on the condition that they be of good behaviour for a period of time. If the offender is of good behaviour for that period there is no further punishment. Under Section 20(1)(a), if the offender is not of good behaviour they may befined and resentenced for the original offence. This is similar to an Undertaking under State law. Under Section 20(1)(b), the order also includes a sentence of imprisonment which is partially or wholly suspended. If it is breached the offender is likely to go to prison. |
| Restitution Order | A restitution order may require the offender to return stolen property to its owner or pay the owner an amount of money up to the value of the stolen property. |
| S13A FVA - Family Violence Offence | A sentence made under the Sentencing Act 1997 Section 7(ea). This sentence type is only for family violence offences. The offender is required to participate in a family violence treatment program. |
| S29A FVA -Declare Serial Family Violence Perpetrator | A court order declaring an offender aged 18 or over as a serial family violence perpetrator based on multiple convictions for family violence offences committed on different days or a conviction for persistent family violence under section 170A of the Criminal Code. |
| Sentence | The penalty imposed by the court on a person found guilty of an offence. |
| Sentence type | The main Act covering sentencing for adult offenders is the Sentencing Act 1997. |
| Sentencing Order Duration | The recorded length of a sentencing order, which indicates the nominal period specified by the court but does not reflect the actual time served by the offender. |
| Sentencing Outcomes | Sentencing outcomes are determined by
either the sentencing order or the case’s finalisation method. A sentencing order may include a global order or a standalone order. Global order is considered as Global Outcome, whereas standalone order or the finalisation method of an offence is treated as a standalone outcome.It is also called global or standalone outcome in SAC Stats |
| Single or Global sentences | When an offender is convicted of multiple offences, a judge or magistrate has the powerto impose one sentence for all offences (a global sentence) or to impose separatesentences for each offence (i.e. single count sentence or standalone sentence) or a combination of both. |
| Suspended sentence | A sentence made under the Sentencing Act 1997 Section 7(b), often called a "suspended sentence". The Court orders the offender to serve a term of imprisonment, but part or all of the sentence is "suspended" for a period of time. For a partially suspended sentence, the offender serves part of the imprisonment term immediately and then is released with the remaining part of the sentence suspended. If the offender breaches the suspended sentence, the imprisonment order may be activated and the offender may go to prison. |
| Youth (or youth offences) | Youth: A person who is aged 10 years or over but under 18 years at the time of the offence. A youth is usually sentenced in the Magistrates Court (Youth Justice Division) under the Youth Justice Act 1997 (Tas).SAC Stats excludes youth offences. |