Sentencing Act amendments
New provisions in the Sentencing Act 2002 limit the discounts available to offenders.
The maximum discount available for an early guilty plea is 25%, according to the Supreme Court in Hessell v R [2010] NZSC 135. This has now been codified by the Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Act 2025.
Section 9H of the Sentencing Act 2002 outlines the sliding scale of maximum reductions possible for guilty pleas. The defendant can get a maximum:
- 25% discount for pleading guilty at the first reasonable opportunity;
- 20% discount for pleading guilty at the case review hearing;
- 15% discount for pleading guilty at or before the first trial callover;
- 10% discount for pleading guilty 20 or more working days before the scheduled start date for the trial; and
- 5% if the guilty plea is entered less than 20 working days before the scheduled date for the trial or during the trial.
The court has the power to depart from the sliding scale, however, cannot go over the maximum 25% limit. The court must state how it has applied the sliding scale and the reasons and extent of the departure. Reasons can include:
- late disclosure by the prosecution;
- the defendant received independent legal advice; and
- the charges were materially amended before the charges resolved or matters that were outside the defendant's control.
The court can acknowledge how much the guilty plea saved public resources or prevented victims and witnesses any further trauma, stress, and inconvenience.
An early guilty plea is a mitigating factor the court must consider under s 9(2)(b) of the Sentencing Act 2002.
The impact of cultural reports under s 27 of the Sentencing Act on sentence discounts is reduced under these changes.
The total sentence reduction for all personal mitigating factors cannot exceed 40% of the sentence if the offender is going to be imprisoned, which includes any youth mitigating factor reduction, guilty plea reduction, and remorse discounts.
The By Lawyers District Court Criminal publication has been updated accordingly.
