What are people with this charge actually receiving?
NSW court data for this offence, what it does and does not tell you, and where you are likely to sit.
10.1The data
Statistical context
The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research publishes outcomes for every offence finalised in the Local Court. The figures below are for the offence of possess or use prohibited drug for matters finalised in 2021, a year in which 9,548 such matters were dealt with. They are presented as statistical context only. They describe the population of people sentenced for this offence. They are not a prediction of your outcome, which depends on your facts and your preparation.
| Outcome | Share of matters | Conviction |
|---|---|---|
| Fine | 62% | Yes |
| Conditional release order without conviction | 15% | No |
| Dismissal without conviction (s 10(1)(a)) | 6% | No |
| Conviction with no other penalty (s 10A) | 6% | Yes |
| Community correction order | 5% | Yes |
| Conditional release order with conviction | 2% | Yes |
| Imprisonment (including ICO) | 1% | Yes |
| Other | 3% |
Data currency
These figures are from 2021 and predate the Early Drug Diversion Initiative, which now removes some low-end matters from the court altogether. More recent BOCSAR data may show a different distribution. Check the BOCSAR Local Court statistics for the most recent year before relying on the figures.
Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Local Court penalty statistics, possess or use prohibited drug, 2021. Requires principal review before release: refresh figures to the most recent published year.
10.2What the numbers say
Reading them
Three things stand out. First, roughly one in five people sentenced on this charge walk away without a conviction. Second, roughly three in five walk away with a fine and a conviction. Third, custody is imposed in about one in a hundred, and those matters are not first offences with small quantities.
The fine and the CRO without conviction are the two outcomes between which your preparation decides. The people in the 62 percent are not worse people than the people in the 21 percent. Many of them had the same facts. The difference, in most cases, is that they pleaded guilty at a mention with nothing in their hands and the court did the default thing. The people in the non-conviction group had, on the whole, given the Judge something to work with.
The data should give you realism, not comfort. A non-conviction outcome is achievable for a first-offence possession matter with proper preparation, and it is not the default. It has to be earned in the four to six weeks between your first mention and your sentence.
10.3Where you are likely to sit
Self-assessment
Use the risk list in Lesson 6 and the factor table in Lesson 9. If none of the aggravating factors apply and you complete Module 3, you are competing for the non-conviction outcomes. If one applies, a fine is the likely floor and a CRO without conviction is possible with strong preparation. If two or more apply, a fine is likely, a CCO is possible, and Lesson 6's box applies.
This is the closest this course will come to predicting your result, and it is deliberately vague, because every matter turns on its own facts and the decision belongs to the Judge alone.