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Sentencing Act 2002

Sentences, orders, and related matters - Imprisonment - Preventive detention

89: Imposition of minimum period of imprisonment

You could also call this:

"Minimum time you must spend in prison for a serious crime"

Illustration for Sentencing Act 2002

If you are sentenced to preventive detention, you must also serve a minimum period of imprisonment, which is at least 5 years. The minimum period of imprisonment is the longer of two things: the time needed to reflect how serious the offence was, or the time needed to keep the community safe from you. You can find more information about stage-3 offences in section 86J and more information about sentences in section 86R(6) and Part 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011. When a court orders a minimum period of imprisonment, it is considered a sentence for the purposes of Part 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011.

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90: Procedure if offender convicted in District Court and court believes offender could be sentenced to preventive detention, or

"What happens if the District Court thinks you might get preventive detention for a serious crime"

Part 2Sentences, orders, and related matters
Imprisonment: Preventive detention

89Imposition of minimum period of imprisonment

  1. If a court sentences an offender to preventive detention, it must also order that the offender serve a minimum period of imprisonment, which in no case may be less than 5 years.

  2. The minimum period of imprisonment imposed under this section must be the longer of—

  3. the minimum period of imprisonment required to reflect the gravity of the offence; or
    1. the minimum period of imprisonment required for the purposes of the safety of the community in the light of the offender's age and the risk posed by the offender to that safety at the time of sentencing.

      1. If a sentence of preventive detention is imposed for a stage-3 offence (as defined in section 86J), subsections (1) and (2) are subject to section 86R(6).

      2. Repealed

      3. For the purposes of Part 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, an order under subsection (1) is a sentence.

      Notes
      • Section 89(2A): inserted, on , by section 8 of the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Act 2024 (2024 No 54).
      • Section 89(2A): repealed, on , by section 6 of the Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Act 2022 (2022 No 40).
      • Section 89(3): amended, on , by section 7 of the Sentencing Amendment Act (No 2) 2011 (2011 No 93).