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
Source: Court Services Victoria, unpublished data.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.
