Section 10 and conditional release orders

The provision

Section 10(1)(a) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) allows a court that finds an offence proved to dismiss the charge without recording a conviction. Section 10(1)(b) allows the court to discharge you on a conditional release order, again without conviction. A conditional release order can also be made with a conviction under s 9. A s 10 dismissal and a non-conviction order leave no conviction recorded. A conditional release order under s 9 records one.

What the court weighs

Section 10(3) directs the court to consider your character, antecedents, age, health and mental condition; the trivial nature of the offence; the extenuating circumstances; and any other matter the court thinks proper. In practice:

• Objective seriousness. Where the offence sits on the range for that charge, not how serious it feels to you.
• Prior record. A blank record carries real weight at sentence. A later offence cannot rely on it again.
• Consequence of a conviction. Not embarrassment, but a demonstrated effect on employment, licensing, a visa, or a professional registration. This must be evidenced, not asserted.
• What you have done since. Completed programs, counselling, restitution, a traffic offender intervention program.

Traffic matters specifically

For drink driving, a s 10 avoids both the conviction and the mandatory disqualification. Completion of a traffic offender intervention program before the sentencing date is close to a practical prerequisite in most Local Courts.