NSW to remove ‘good character’ from being considered at sentencing hearings in nationwide first

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 1 min read 100% complete by Penry BuckleyJanuary 31, 2026 at 08:00 PM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

New South Wales will become the first state in Australia to remove "good character" considerations from sentencing hearings. The legislation, to be introduced Wednesday, prevents offenders convicted of any crime from using character references and positive contributions to society as mitigating factors. This change aims to shift how courts approach sentencing, particularly in cases of sexual abuse. Supporters, including survivors of sexual abuse, see this as a significant improvement. However, some critics argue that the new law could limit defendants' rights by restricting the information presented during sentencing. The change will affect how judges consider prior records and general reputation during sentencing decisions.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

State Government of New South Wales 60% Australia 70% New South Wales ×290%

Keywords

sentencing hearings 90% good character 80% sexual abuse survivors 70% defendants' rights 60% mitigating factors 60% nsw 50% legislation 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Neutral

Score: 0.10

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

85%

Geographic Perspective

New South Wales

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

sentencing hearings good character sexual abuse survivors defendants' rights mitigating factors nsw legislation

Explore Full Topic Graph