Northern Territory Consolidated Acts

SENTENCING ACT - SECT 39

(1) An offender is in breach of a community work order if he or she:

(a) fails to comply with a term or condition of the order;

(b) fails to carry out his or her obligations under section 37(1);

(c) disturbs or interferes with any other person participating in or doing anything under a community work order;

(d) assaults, threatens, insults or uses abusive language to a probation officer or supervising officer;

(e) changes his or her address for the purposes of evading the execution of this Act;

(f) fails to pay the outstanding balance of a fine within the time specified in a written statement under section 28(2);

(g) commits a breach of the Regulations; or

(h) commits an offence against a law in force in the Territory during a time when he or she is participating in an approved project under the order.

(2) Where a Justice is satisfied that an offender is in breach of a community work order, the Justice may:

(a) issue a summons directing the offender to appear before the court on a date and at a time specified in the summons; or

(b) where the Justice is satisfied the offender may not appear, issue a warrant for the arrest of the offender.

(3) Where an offender served with a summons issued under subsection (2)(a) fails to attend before the court, the court may issue a warrant for the arrest of the offender.

(3A) Where a court is satisfied, by evidence on oath or by affidavit, or by the admission of the offender, that the offender is in breach of a community work order, it may vary, confirm, or, (if the order is still in force) revoke the order and, whether or not it is still in force, taking into account the extent to which the offender had complied with the order, deal with him or her for the offence or offences with respect to which it was made in any manner in which the court could deal with the offender if it had just found him or her guilty of the offence or offences.

(4) Where a court is satisfied that an offender is in breach of a community work order, the court may, whether or not the order is in force at the time the offender appears before the court, order that the offender be imprisoned for such term as would equal one day of imprisonment for each 8 hours or part thereof of the approved project that the offender failed to participate in under the order or for 7 days, whichever is the greater.

(5) For the purpose of determining the number of hours under subsection (4), the court may hear evidence from a probation officer or such other person as it thinks fit.

(6) Where a court imposes a term of imprisonment under subsection (4), the community work order shall be deemed to be revoked and the court:

(a) may then deal with the offender for the offence in respect of which the community work order was made in any manner in which it could deal with the offender if it had just found the offender guilty of the offence; and

(b) at the time of further dealing with the offender for the offence, may take into account:

(i) the term of imprisonment imposed for the breach of the order; and

(ii) the extent to which the offender had complied with the order.

(7) Where a court is satisfied that an offender is in breach of a community work order and there is more than one community work order in force in respect of the offender, the offender shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed:

(a) to be in breach of all the orders; and

(b) in respect of the offender's participation in the approved projects under the orders, to have participated in the projects in the order in which the orders were made.

(8) Where a community work order is made in respect of more than one offence and a court is satisfied that the offender is in breach of the order, the court shall deal with the offender under this section for all the offences in respect of which the order was made.

Subdivision 1. Suspended sentences of imprisonment