New South Wales is set to make legal history as the first state in Australia to abolish the use of 'good character' references in criminal sentencing. 'No offender should be able to rely on the fact they are of "good character" to mitigate the consequences of their criminal behaviour.' In cases of child sexual abuse, there is already a 'special rule' restricting character evidence, if that character directly enabled the crime. 'We heard over and again how much distress the use of character references in sentencing causes and we welcome this change,' Ms Bevan said. The bill will amend the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 and is expected to pass with broad Opposition support.

Source: Daily Mail February 01, 2026 10:13 UTC