The Council is currently working on:
- Sentencing Adult Family Violence Offenders in Victoria
- Sentencing Commonwealth Offences
- Standard Sentences
- Sentence Indications
- Virtual You be the Judge
Sentencing Adult Family Violence Offenders in Victoria
The Council is preparing a report on the sentencing of adult family violence offenders in Victoria. The project will examine sentencing outcomes for family violence offenders in the Magistrates’ Court, County Court and Supreme Court from July 2017 to June 2024. The project team will use the family violence indicator employed by police and the courts to identify cases in which at least one offence occurred in the context of family violence.
The report will examine:
- the prevalence of family violence offences recorded by police and sentenced by courts
- sentencing outcomes for family violence offences, including trends over time
- factors associated with offenders receiving prison sentences in the Magistrates’ Court, and longer prison sentences in the higher courts
- reoffending patterns of family violence offenders.
Sentencing Commonwealth Offences
The public has access to limited statistical information about the sentencing of Commonwealth offences in Australia. Previously, the public could access federal sentencing data using the National Judicial College’s Commonwealth Sentencing Database, but that database was removed in early 2024. Until recently, our SACStat database only included outcomes for some Commonwealth offences sentenced in Victorian higher courts, and as of August 2024, the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council’s Sentencing Datahub includes some Commonwealth offences sentenced in that state.
Incorporating Federal Sentencing Data into SACStat
The Council has updated SACStat to incorporate sentencing data for Commonwealth offences in both the higher courts and the Magistrates’ Court. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive account of sentencing for Commonwealth offences in Victoria. The federal sentencing data also reflects the unique sentencing orders available for Commonwealth offences.
A Statistical Profile of Commonwealth Offences Sentenced in Victoria
In addition to our work on SACStat, the Council is preparing a statistical report on Commonwealth offences sentenced in Victoria during the five years to 30 June 2023. The report will include, among other things:
- the number of people sentenced for Commonwealth offences each year
- the Commonwealth offences people were sentenced for
- the prosecuting agency in each of those cases
- sentencing outcomes for Commonwealth offences
- a detailed examination of sentencing outcomes for common Commonwealth offences, such as using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend.
Standard Sentences
Introduced in 2018, standard sentences are numerical guideposts that courts have to consider when sentencing 13 serious offences. Now that standard sentences have been in operation for more than seven years, the Council is preparing a report on whether standard sentences have affected sentencing practices, and if so, how.
For each of the 13 offences, the report will examine:
- the number of charges sentenced each year
- whether the standard sentence applied (that is, was the offence committed after standard sentences were introduced?)
- the types of sentences imposed and
- the lengths of prison sentences imposed.
The Council will also be undertaking a regression analysis for a handful of these offences to attempt to quantify the contribution of standard sentences to changes in sentencing outcomes.
Sentence Indications
Sentence indications involve courts indicating the type of sentence likely to be imposed if the defendant pleads guilty to certain charges. In 2022, new legislation came into effect expanding the availability of sentence indications in the County Court and the Supreme Court.
The Council is currently preparing a report examining sentence indications in the 10 years to 2024. Among other things, the report will examine:
- the number of sentence indications in the County Court and Supreme Court each year
- the types of sentence indications given
- the types of sentences imposed after sentence indications, and whether sentences varied from the sentence indication
- the age and gender of people receiving sentence indications and
- the types of offences in sentence indication cases.
The report will also examine the average time to a plea hearing to determine whether people are pleading guilty earlier since the 2022 reforms.
Virtual You be the Judge
Our Virtual You be the Judge online application educates the public about sentencing by putting people in the position of a sentencing judge. Building on our popular You be the Judge format for in-person educational sessions, the application uses real-life case studies to help people understand the sentencing process and, at an introductory level, how Victorian courts make sentencing decisions. Currently, thousands of people, especially high school students, use Virtual You be the Judge each year to learn about sentencing.
There have been significant advancements and changes in technology, sentencing law, and sentencing practices since the Council launched Virtual You be the Judge in October 2010. In 2023, the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner generously provided the Council with dedicated funding to rebuild Virtual You be the Judge. The application will include entirely new case studies and a refresh of its appearance and interactivity, while retaining the key features that have made Virtual You be the Judge a success.
We are currently aiming to launch the new Virtual You be the Judge in time for the 2027 school year.
