In 2023–24, the most common sentencing outcomes in the Magistrates' Court were:
- fines (53.1% of cases)
- adjourned undertakings (18.9% of cases)
- discharges and dismissals (7.2% of cases)
- imprisonment (also 7.2% of cases).
The imprisonment rate in the Magistrates’ Court increased from 4.9% in 2004–05 to 12.8% in 2019–20, but it has since fallen steadily to 7.2% in 2023–24.
Cases receiving a fine have decreased over time, from a peak of 60.6% in 2007–08.
Cases receiving an adjourned undertaking have increased over time, from a low of 9.4% in 2006–07 to a high of 18.9% in 2023–24 (the most recent financial year).
Wholly and partially suspended sentences are only available in the Magistrates’ Court for offences committed before 1 September 2014. In 2023–24, there were just 9 suspended sentences in the Magistrates’ Court, down from a high of 7,659 cases in 2009–10.
The proportion of cases receiving a community correction order (or a community-based order before January 2012) has varied over time, reaching a high of 10.5% in both 2015–16 and 2016–17, before decreasing to 6.5% in 2023–24.
Note: The percentages in the graph include cases that received a criminal justice diversion plan. The criminal justice diversion plan is not a sentence, but it is an important disposition available in the Magistrates' Court.
Percentage of cases sentenced in the Magistrates’ Court, by sentencing outcome
Hover over the lines in the graph to display the sentencing outcome, year, number of cases and percentage of cases. Select and deselect sentencing outcomes using the key at the top of the graph. Double-click on the key to reset the graph.
Source: Court Services Victoria, unpublished data. Note that the data may be subject to revision to reflect amendments to records in Court Services Victoria’s databases.
