Defence barrister Sarah Thompson said Taingahue was not an Australian citizen and was likely to be deported when released from prison.
The court heard Taingahue had been drinking heavily the night of the attack when she heard someone make a racial slur.
Taingahue thought the slur came from the victim, approached her from behind and picked up the woman and "tossed her headfirst on to the concrete floor".
Judge Catherine Muir said the woman had not said anything to Taingahue and had not made a racial slur.
"The complainant seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," Muir said.
The attack has left the young woman with damage to hearing in her right ear and suffering headaches three to four times a week, for which she undergoes regular acupuncture treatment.
She had a bleed between the brain and skull and bruising on her brain.
"It has had a devastating effect on the complainant," the judge said.
At the time of the attack the woman was in the last stage of training to be a flight attendant, a dream she has since had to give up.
"She can't go out and engage herself in a pub or crowded place," Muir said.
"She hopes the sentence will give her closure."
Thompson said Taingahue was under a lot of stress at the time of the incident due to cracks in her marriage.
The relationship has since dissolved.
Thompson said Taingahue had been diagnosed with anxiety, stress and depression.
Taingahue had also undergone a three-week program to help control her drinking.
A decision about Taingahue's deportation will be made towards the end of her prison sentence.
