Committals Hearings (Vic)

When a person is Victoria is charged with a serious offence, the matter may have to go through a committal procedure before it can be finalised. This means that a magistrates must look at the evidence against the accused and decide whether to commit the matter to a higher court or dismiss the matter. This page deals with committal procedures in Victoria.

Legislation

Committal proceeding are governed by the Criminal Procedure Act 2009.

What happens at a committal hearing?

At a committal hearing, the prosecution calls evidence against the accused and the magistrate must decide whether there is a strong enough case to support a finding of guilt for the offence charged.

A committal hearing takes place in the Magistrates Court or in the Children’s Court if the accused is under 18.

A committal may occur in the form of an oral committal or in the form of a hand-up committal.

Oral committals

An oral committal hearing is held if the defence wants to test the strength of the prosecution case. It is similar to a trial. The prosecution calls witnesses to give oral evidence and the defence has the opportunity to ask the witnesses questions. However, the defence does not generally call evidence or put its case forward at an oral committal.

After a magistrate has heard evidence at an oral committal, they will make a decision to commit the matte to a higher court or to dismiss the matter. If the matter is dismissed, the proceeding ends. If the matter is committed, it will proceed to either a trial or a plea in a higher court.

In rare cases, a charge that is dismissed at committal stage may be re-laid as a direct indictment. When this occurs, the matter is taken directly to the higher court. A direct indictment may only be filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Hand-up committals

A committal can also be held in the form of a hand-up committal. This occurs when the defence does not dispute that there is sufficient evidence to support a finding of guilt. In a hand-up committal, a copy of the brief of evidence is handed to the magistrate. The magistrate will review the case against the accused and commit the matter to a higher court if satisfied that the evidence is sufficient to do so.  

In a hand-up committal, no witnesses are called as the evidence is not being tested. A hand-up committal is more likely to be held where the defendant is pleading guilty.

Rationale for committals

Committal procedures exist so that matters are not prosecuted on indictment indiscriminately. When the prosecution does not have a strong case against an accused person, they should not be subjected to the expense and stress of a proceeding in a higher court.

Committal hearings also exist to ensure court time is used efficiently. They help to ensure that the higher courts do not have their time and resources taken up with prosecutions that are not likely to succeed.  

Committals also allow the defence to test the prosecution case and get a sense of how witnesses are likely to perform at the trial. They also allow parties to clearly define the issues that are in dispute.

Indictable offences heard summarily

When an indictable offence is heard summarily (by a magistrate), there is no committal proceeding. Indictable offences such as theft and assault are often heard summarily by agreement between the parties where it is appropriate for this to happen. When an indictable offence is heard summarily, the maximum penalty that can be

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