Good character references will no longer be able to be used by courts as a mitigating factor at sentencing following an announcement from the WA Government today.
Attorney-General Dr Tony Buti acknowledged that there have been growing concerns that offenders with professional standing, community status, or strong personal networks are perceived as receiving more favourable treatment by arranging for friends, family and colleagues to provide good character references.
Concerns also relate to the use of these references in sentencing, causing further distress to victims.
“The Cook Labor Government is committed to protecting the community, and our decision to scrap good character references at sentencing hearings ensures that victims are always put first,” Dr Buti said.
“I have had meetings with advocates for victim-survivors and heard how distressing it can be when a criminal’s professional standing and community reputation are used to try to reduce their sentence.
“This is particularly distressing in cases of child abuse and sexual assault, when a perpetrator’s friends and colleagues may be unaware of the perpetrator’s sinister behaviour.
“This important reform was already well advanced for child abuse cases, and expanding it to scrap character references for other sentencing hearings is an important next step.
“We have begun drafting these important reforms and will consult the profession and other key stakeholders during that process.”
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended the removal of character references in cases involving child abuse; however, the Government has decided to expand the change to all sentencing hearings.
The Government said that drafting of a bill to address the Royal Commission’s recommendation is already well progressed. This legislation will now be expanded to include amendments to the Sentencing Act 1995 (WA) to remove the use of good character references as mitigation in sentencing for all offences.
The reform will ensure sentencing is focused on the offences committed, rather than the offender’s reputation. It also reduces the potential for inequality in sentencing where well-connected individuals may receive an advantage because of their references.
The reform will not prevent courts from considering relevant factors such as an offender’s prospects of rehabilitation, absence of prior convictions, or personal circumstances.
The Greens welcome government’s commitment to change
Jess Beckerling, the Women and Children’s Safety spokesperson for The Greens, welcomed the Government’s move.
“This announcement is a huge win for advocates and survivors, especially those whose perpetrators have used their influence and their networks to facilitate good character references that have led to a reduced sentence.
“Far too many victims of gendered and sexual violence are facing the courts and hearing their perpetrator being described as being of good character. It’s traumatising, it’s unjust, and it has to stop.
“So I’m glad to see the Cook Labor Government is finally taking advantage of increasing national momentum on this issue, listening to survivors and following through with this recommendation from the Royal Commission.
“It is not possible to be both a person of good character and a convicted paedophile or a convicted rapist. It is a complete oxymoron and an outdated idea that must be scrapped,” Beckerling said.
Greens leader Dr Brad Pettitt said that while the ban on good character references in sexually related crimes was welcomed, there were concerns about the Government’s decision to extend the ban to all offences.
“Good character references must be banned for convicted sex offenders. That law change is long overdue, but we must be incredibly careful about extending that ban entirely.
“There are instances where good character references are justified and important, and the courts must have the discretionary power to allow them. This is especially true for vulnerable communities and victimless crimes.
“A blanket ban is not good policy-making and it is not what survivors, or the sector, are calling for,” Dr Pettitt said.
“We urge the Cook Government to consult carefully to get this ban right so that it can be the win for victim-survivors that it needs to be without creating a raft of unintended negative consequences.”
Government simultaneously orders “cultural review” of Western Power.
The WA Government was already considering the issue but reacted quickly after media reports highlighted that three Western Power employees had supported a former colleague convicted of rape.
Jeffrey David Spinner, 59, was sentenced to five years in jail after taking a female colleague to his hotel room when she was heavily intoxicated in 2024 and assaulting her. After hearing eight character references, the judge in the case determined that the rape was “out of character” for the offender.
The three Western Power colleagues who provided character references were subsequently stood down from their roles.
Today, the Government also ordered an independent “cultural review” of Western Power, alongside an already commissioned investigation into the conduct of the three employees.
The cultural review will be led by Kate Jenkins and Natasha de Silva at Intersection. Jenkins, a former Sex Discrimination Commissioner, led the 2021 Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces.
