Simon Gittany has been sentenced to 26 years in jail, with a non-parole period of 18 years, for the murder of his fiancée Lisa Harnum.

Gittany threw Ms Harnum to her death from the balcony of their 15th-floor apartment in inner Sydney in July 2011.

NSW Supreme Court Justice Lucy McCallum, who presided over Gittany's judge-only trial last year, today handed down his punishment.

Justice McCallum said that jailing Gittany for life would be excessive, but added that he had no prospects of rehabilitation.

Gittany's family, sitting in the court's public gallery, erupted when she delivered the sentence.

"In the name of Jesus Christ, you won't be doing any of that time," one family member yelled.

The judge ordered one family member to be removed from the court and all three relatives present responded by walking out together.

During sentencing, Justice McCallum described the cruelty of the crime.

"Ms Harnum must have been in a state of complete terror in the moments before her death," she said.

Justice McCallum described Gittany as "arrogant" and said he had punished Ms Harnum during their relationship for "small acts of defiance" such as wearing her hair down.

The court heard about Gittany's previous potential for violence, including an incident in which he bit off part of a policeman's ear in 1994.

"It has a troubling resonance with the present offence," Justice McCallum said.

"Each appears to have entailed a sudden loss of control and a response of extreme violence to a blameless act.

Members of Simon Gittany's family who were escorted from the courthouse after voicing their displeasure at the sentence. ( AAP Image: Dean Lewins )

"Each involves a form of violence that is shocking and unequivocal."

The judge told the court that she had excluded evidence from a surprise prosecution witness last week - a former colleague of Ms Harnum who said Gittany had previously threatened to kill Ms Harnum and make it look like suicide.

"I cannot be satisfied on the evidence that Mr Gittany formed an intention to kill Ms Harnum at any point earlier than the short moments before her death, or that the offence was planned or premeditated in the traditional sense," Justice McCallum said.

"However I am satisfied that he must have anticipated the prospect that he would fly into a rage if ever she were to leave him.

"Although I accept that the intention to kill was formed suddenly and in a state of rage, it was facilitated by a sense of ownership and a lack of any true respect for the autonomy of the woman he claimed to love."

The businessman's current girlfriend, Rachelle Louise, who has fiercely defended Gittany and has been by his side for much of his trial, was not in court for the sentencing.

Gittany himself showed no emotion as he listened to the judge's comments.

Outside court, his lawyer, Abigail Bannister, said there would be an appeal.

"Mr Gittany does maintain his innocence and he does intend to appeal," she said.

Prosecution wanted Gittany to serve at least 20 years

The prosecution had called for a prison sentence of at least 20 years.

Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi described Gittany last week as a cold and calculating killer who wanted to punish his Canadian fiancée.

The prosecutor questioned character witnesses provided for Gittany, telling the court the sentence should take into account an overriding community concern about domestic violence.

Today Justice McCallum said she accepted descriptions of Gittany by character witnesses as friendly, polite, respectful and generous.

"However... that is plainly not the complete picture of the man," she told the court.

Key evidence from Gittany trial The tragic final moments of Lisa Harnum's life were replayed in a murder trial that has captured the public's attention. Look back at the key evidence.

"Every single character witness is either ignorant of or blinkered to the fact that Mr Gittany is capable of the extreme violence he exhibited towards the policeman.

"The starkest illustration of that blinkered approach comes from Mr Gittany's current girlfriend, Ms Rachelle Louise."

Mr Tedeschi said last week that Gittany was controlling and violent towards Ms Harnum and had been aware she might leave him for some time.

He argued Gittany's intention all along was to kill his fiancée and make it look like suicide.

The prosecutor told the court last week Gittany had prior convictions for drug-related offences and showed no regard for the safety of passers-by when he threw Ms Harnum off their balcony.

Mr Tedeschi likened it to "firing a gun during peak hour on George Street".

Gittany's barrister, Philip Strickland SC, had argued for a more lenient sentence, saying the 40-year-old was unlikely to reoffend.

Mr Strickland told the court last week that Gittany has a "solid family" which would help his rehabilitation prospects.

Gittany has always maintained he is innocent, describing himself as a "God-fearing Christian" who would "never kill anyone".