Citation: Karpatsis v R [2026] NSWCCA 86
Court: Court of Criminal Appeal
Date: 22 June 2026
Judge(s): Cavanagh J, Rigg J, Roberts J
Background
The appellant was sentenced at the Sydney Drug Court on 19 June 2024 in relation to nine offences involving breaking and entering, drug possession, and a driving offence. The initial sentencing judge indicated a term of 4 years and 2 months imprisonment, applying a 25% discount for early guilty pleas, and suspended execution of the sentence to allow the appellant to participate in the Drug Court program.
Between June 2024 and March 2025, the appellant accumulated a series of brief custodial sanctions for non-compliance with the program. His program was terminated in his absence on 17 March 2025, and he was arrested on a termination warrant on 8 June 2025.
On 5 August 2025, the final sentencing judge at the Parramatta Drug Court revoked the suspension order and imposed an aggregate term of 3 years and 2 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 1 year and 8 months, commencing 5 November 2024. The appellant challenged two aspects of that sentence on appeal.
Legal Issues
- Whether the final sentencing judge erred by commencing the sentence on a date different from the date nominated by the initial sentencing judge.
- Whether either sentencing judge failed to take into account s 58 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), which limits the Local Court from imposing new sentences of imprisonment that, when served consecutively to an existing sentence, would extend beyond five years from the start of the existing sentence.
Decision
Ground 1: Commencement date
Rigg J held that Ground 1 did not raise an error of law or wrong application of principle as required by s 5AA of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) for an appeal of this kind to succeed. Nevertheless, the Court addressed the substance of the complaint given the appellant was self-represented.
The initial sentencing judge was not required to set a commencement date when imposing the initial sentence, as the commencement provisions in ss 44-48 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act do not apply to Drug Court sentencing under s 7A(4) of the Drug Court Act 1998 (NSW). The initial judge's reference to the appellant's 258 days of pre-sentence custody was made in the context of encouraging productive participation in the program, not to nominate a commencement date.
The final sentencing judge was required by s 12(2) of the Drug Court Act to account for specified periods of custody when reconsidering the sentence. The Crown tendered a table calculating 273 days of credit across four categories: 164 days bail refused for the offences before the court (excluding time spent serving revoked parole for unrelated offences), 46 days of custodial sanctions under the program, 5 days representing half of time in residential rehabilitation treated as quasi-custody, and 58 days from arrest on the termination warrant to the sentencing date. These 273 days produced the commencement date of 5 November 2024, which the final sentencing judge accepted. The Court found all relevant periods had been properly accounted for and no error was established.
Ground 2: Section 58 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act
Section 58 prevents a Local Court from imposing a new sentence of imprisonment to be served consecutively with an existing sentence where the combined end date falls more than five years after the existing sentence began. The appellant argued neither the initial nor final sentencing judge had considered this provision in relation to two particular offences.
The Court found s 58 had no application on the facts. The appellant was not serving an existing sentence at the time of either sentencing. His earlier sentence for unrelated dishonesty offences had commenced on 8 August 2021 and expired on 7 December 2023 (with revoked parole expiring on 23 December 2023). By the time of the initial sentence on 19 June 2024, that sentence had fully expired. Section 58 therefore did not constrain either sentencing exercise, even if it were otherwise applicable to a Drug Court judge exercising Local Court jurisdiction with respect to those offences.
Orders Made
- The appeal is dismissed.
- The orders of the Drug Court are confirmed.
Key Takeaways
- An appeal under s 5AF(1) and s 5AA of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) is an appeal in the strict sense: the appellant can only succeed by establishing an error of law or wrong application of principle.
- Under s 7A(4) of the Drug Court Act, the commencement date provisions in ss 44-48 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act do not apply to the initial Drug Court sentencing exercise, meaning the initial sentencing judge is not required to set a commencement date at that stage.
- Section 12(2) of the Drug Court Act obliges the final sentencing judge, when reconsidering a sentence after program termination, to account for custody periods including time on remand, custodial sanctions under the program, and time in custody following a termination warrant.
- Section 58 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, which limits consecutive sentences in the Local Court, only operates where the offender is subject to an "existing sentence" as defined in s 58(4). Where a prior sentence has fully expired before the new sentence is imposed, s 58 does not apply.
- In dismissing the appeal, the Court confirmed that time spent simultaneously serving revoked parole for unrelated offences and bail refused for current offences need not be credited toward the current sentencing exercise.
Legislation and Cases Referenced
Legislation
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 24, 44-48, 47(3), 58
- Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW), ss 5AA, 5AF(1)
- Drug Court Act 1998 (NSW), ss 7A(4), 7A(5)(b), 8A, 10(1)(b), 12(2)
Cases
- Callaghan v R [2006] NSWCCA 58; (2006) 160 A Crim R 145
- Kelly v R [2024] NSWCCA 101
- R v Quinlin [2021] NSWCCA 284; (2021) 293 A Crim R 253
- YA v R [2026] NSWCCA 38