CARR v REGINA [2003] NSWCCA 175

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION : CARR v REGINA [2003] NSWCCA 175 HEARING DATE(S) : 02/07/03 JUDGMENT DATE : 4 July 2003

JUDGMENT OF : Mason P at 1; Dowd J at 2; Adams J at 25 DECISION : Leave granted; appeal allowed; sentence set aside; re-sentenced to 2½ years imprisonment commencing 12/12/02 expiring 11/06/05; applicant be released at the expiration of 7 months 2 weeks from 12/12/02 expiring on 25/07/03, on entering recognisance of $200 without surety, be of good behaviour for a period of 2 years from today, to appear for sentence if called for any breach within that same period.

CATCHWORDS : Severity appeal - parity - justifiable sense of grievance with particular co-offender's sentence. LEGISLATION CITED : Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) Lowe v R (1985) 154 CLR 606 CASES CITED : Postiglione v R (1997) 189 CLR 295 R v Olbrich (1999) 199 CLR 270 PARTIES : Dawn Marie Carr (Applicant) Crown (Respondent) FILE NUMBER(S) : CCA 60139/03 COUNSEL : G Bashir (Applicant) H Dhanji (Crown) SOLICITORS : DJ Humphreys (Applicant) SE O'Connor (Respondent)

LOWER COURT District Court JURISDICTION : LOWER COURT 02/41/0047 FILE NUMBER(S) : LOWER COURT Graham DCJ JUDICIAL OFFICER :

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL 60139/03

MASON P DOWD J ADAMS J

Friday 4 July 2003 DAWN MARIE CARR v REGINA Judgment 1 MASON P: I agree with Dowd J. 2 DOWD J: Consequent upon the entry of a plea of guilty in the Queanbeyan District Court to a single offence of defrauding the Commonwealth from 1 January 1996 to 30 April 2000 the applicant was sentenced on 12 December 2002 by Graham DCJ, at the same time as three co-offenders, to two and a half years' imprisonment dating from 12 December 2002 with a non-parole period expiring on 11 December 2003 whereupon the applicant was to be released to a good behaviour bond for two and a half years. A reparation order of $8,230.50 was made by consent in favour of the Health Insurance Commission. 3 In the fraud scheme there were seven co-offenders, the principal of which scheme was Cheryl Wilkin. The scheme was to manufacture false claims and accounts in respect of the doctor's practice where Wilkin worked as a receptionist. Wilkin had produced false accounts for herself and her family, signing all the false claim forms. The extended scheme raised the sum of $176,282.55 involving also Wilkin's sister, Vicki Watson. Other participants in the scheme were: the applicant; Wilkin's daughter, Kelly Diamond; Ann Morris; Tanya Pittman and Deborah Edwards, daughters of the applicant; and Kim Furner, a friend of Pittman and Edwards. 4 The penalty for the offence is ten years imprisonment. The learned sentencing judge held that the persistent abuse of the Medicare system required the strongest condemnation and justified significant deterrent penalties. 5 The applicant was the only offender, other than Wilkin, to receive a full time sentence of imprisonment. Diamond was sentenced to one year's periodic detention and all others received suspended sentences. The amount that Diamond defrauded was $28,154.50.