Ban on Considering Good Character During Sentencing
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character) Bill 2026
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Introduced by: Michael Daley MP (ALP); The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Wes Fang NAT
“I indicate that the Opposition does not oppose the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character) Bill 2026.”
Sue Higginson GRN
“I contribute to debate on the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character) Bill 2026. Our position remains unchanged since the passage of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character at Sentencing) Act 2026. The law as it stands already strikes the right balance.”
Tania Mihailuk IND
“I make a brief contribution to debate on the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character) Bill 2026. I support the introduction of the bill. I am pleased to see a bill of this nature return to the House.”
Mark Banasiak SFFP
“The Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character) Bill 2026 would strip judges of an important tool of discretion in sentencing. It confuses hardened criminality with human fallibility. It takes a blunt instrument to a nuanced area of law and, in doing so, risks feeding more decent people into a corrections system already groaning under its own failures.”
John Ruddick LIBT
“The Libertarian Party opposes the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character) Bill 2026. My contribution to debate will be brief because we debated the same legislative proposal very recently. The bill is an insult to the Legislative Council.”
Mark Latham IND
“It is somewhat Groundhog Day here in the Legislative Council because we have already had this debate. I did not contribute to debate on the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character at Sentencing) Bill 2026, but by popular demand—”
Taylor Martin IND
“I contribute to debate on the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character) Bill 2026. We have all heard examples of an individual who has been found guilty of horrifying crimes but then has a string of glowing character references presented in court that gives the impression that the harm done to the victims should be diminished.”
Stephen Lawrence ALP
“I support the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character) Bill 2026. It proposes a sensible reform to the criminal justice system, the merit of which requires close examination of the important minutiae of sentencing law. That is something that I quite enjoy doing. I thank all the previous contributors to the debate, including the Hon.”
Rod Roberts IND
“I was not going to contribute to debate on the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character) Bill 2026 because I was clearly on record in debate on the previous bill. But I am perplexed by the Minns Government’s sledgehammer approach to this. As I said last time, no member in this Chamber is more "lock ’em up and throw away the key" than me.”
Rose Jackson ALP
“Tania Mihailuk, the Hon. Mark Latham, the Hon. Taylor Martin, the Hon. Stephen Lawrence, the Hon. Rod Roberts and the Hon. John Ruddick. There is an element of groundhog day to this debate. That was a fair call‑out. I hope that the Hon.”
News articles and press releases
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character) Bill 2026
Mr MICHAEL DALEY, Attorney General — 2026-05-13
This bill amends the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 to ensure that the full effect of the good character reforms that the Government introduced to the Parliament in February this year can take effect. The Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Good Character at Sentencing) Bill 2026, which I will refer to as the original bill, was put forward by the Government to abolish good character as a mitigating factor at sentencing on the recommendation of the NSW Sentencing Council. However, the original bill was amended in the Legislative Council so that it only removes good character as a mitigating factor at sentencing for sexual offences.