The man who tried to kill Lauren Huxley, Robert Black Farmer, has been jailed for at least 20 years.
As Farmer was being sentenced the 39-year-old showed little emotion, but behind him in the public gallery, the Huxley family – including Lauren – smiled and hugged.
In November 2005, emergency services responding to a house fire in Northmead found Lauren in a pool of blood.
The then 18-year-old was so badly injured the police officers thought she was dead.
Ms Huxley suffered permanent brain damage and required extensive surgery as a result of the attack, including a facial reconstruction and repairs to her shattered skull.
Today, the man who tried to kill her has been given a maximum 24 years and six months jail.
The sentence is just six months short of the maximum possible.
Ms Huxley arrived at court this morning smiling, before coming face to face with her attacker inside.
She had not attended any of the previous hearings.
Speaking just after the sentencing, Lauren's father, Pat Huxley, told 2GB's Ray Hadley, the sentence is a relief after everything the family has been through.
"Obviously you hope for the highest you can get," he said.
"The best thing is that he's off the streets, mate. He won't harm anyone for a good long while, he won't hurt anybody."
Robert Black Farmer will be eligible for parole in 2026.
But Farmer's lawyer, Ben Archbold, says they will be lodging an appeal.
"I've just been to see Mr Farmer in the cells and he's a little bit shocked at the moment," he told reporters outside court.
"He still maintains his innocence, as he has done since the start of the trial."