VIC

In March 2019, the Victorian government passed the Justice Legislation Amendment (Police and other matters) Act. Among other changes, this act gives police the power to take DNA samples from adult and juvenile suspects in indictable matters without a court order, even where the suspect does not consent to the sample being taken. The broader…

When a court imposes a sentencing order on an offender, it may do so for any one or more of five sentencing purposes. These are rehabilitation, punishment, denunciation, deterrence and community protection and they are set out in Section 5 of the Sentencing Act 1991. Which of these principles is given primacy and which are…

When a court makes a sentencing order, it must consider the purpose for which the sentence is being imposed. A sentence can be imposed for one or more of five purposes. These are deterrence, punishment, denunciation, community protection and rehabilitation and they are set out in Section 5 of the Sentencing Act 1991. Courts may impose sentences…

For a contract to be valid, all parties must have contractual capacity. Certain classes of people do not have the capacity to contract. For example, a person who has a mental disorder that means they are unable to understand the nature of the contract, lacks contractual capacity. Persons under the age of 18 have a…

Cardinal George Pell was  sentenced today by the Victorian County Court for historical child sex offences. He received a total effective sentence of six years imprisonment with a non-parole period of three years and eight months. The offences occurred in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996 and 1997 and the victims were two 13-year-old…

The Serious Offenders Act 2018 provides a framework for dealing with serious offenders who have served custodial sentences in Victoria and who continue to pose an unacceptable risk to the community upon completing their sentence. The act allows the Supreme Court to order such offenders to be subject to continuing detention or supervision for a…

The evidence used to prove a case can take many forms, including witness testimony, objects, audio or visual recordings, documents, and facts that are agreed upon between the parties. The Evidence Act 2008 establishes a complex set of rules that apply to different types of evidence and the ways they can be used. But the…

Under Section 321M of the Crimes Act 1958, it is a criminal offence in Victoria to attempt to commit an indictable offence. Attempted offences are one form of inchoate offence, meaning an offence that is incomplete. Other types of inchoate offences are conspiracy to commit an offence and incitement to an offence. Attempted offences carry…

The man who drove a stolen car through Bourke Street mall, killing six people and seriously injuring 27 in 2017, was sentenced by the Victorian Supreme Court on 22 February 2019. Justice Weinberg called it one of the ‘worst examples of mass murder’ in Australia’s history and ordered James Gargasoulas to serve six concurrent life…

The Victorian Premier has announced the state will be passing legislation to outlaw the controversial practice of gay conversion therapy. The Health Complaints Commissioner, which commenced an inquiry into the practice last year, found overwhelming evidence that the therapy does long-term damage to people who receive it. The inquiry into gay conversion therapy On 15…

In 2006, Victoria passed the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. The Charter is an ordinary act of parliament that sets out the rights, freedoms and responsibilities of all people living in Victoria. The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities requires all public authorities in Victoria to act in a manner consistent with the twenty…

Character evidence is evidence that relates to whether an accused is of good or bad character.  Whether or not character evidence is admissible in a proceeding depends on whether the evidence is of good or bad character. The rules of character evidence are set out in the Uniform Evidence Act, which codifies and in some…

Open justice is a fundamental principle of the Australian legal system. The public is generally free to enter courts and watch legal proceedings. Information relating to court decisions and the progress of litigation is generally available to the public. However, in some circumstances, the court may make a Suppression Order, prohibiting the disclosure of information…

The age of criminal liability is the age at which a person can be arrested, charged and found guilty of a criminal offence. The age of criminal liability in Victoria is 10. This is the same as the minimum age of criminal liability under federal law and in all the other Australian states and territories.…

Magistrates Courts across Australia spend a significant portion of their time dealing with Intervention Order applications and breaches of such orders. However, such individualised preventative and responsive measures fail to address the causes and social values behind family violence. It remains the reality that the vast majority of cases involving serious domestic violence never make…

While Victoria does not have a legislated youth diversion program, the Children’s Court and Victorian Police have implemented various therapeutic diversionary programs aimed at encouraging young people to reflect on and cease their offending. These initiatives have arisen in a climate where the rates of youth offending are falling in most categories of offences and…