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Sentencing Research Guide

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Victorian Sentencing Manual 

Victorian Sentencing Manual

The Victorian Sentencing Manual (VSM) is written by the Judicial College of Victoria (JCV). The VSM is freely available on the JCV website (JOIN).

The 4th edition of the VSM, which has been extensively edited and redesigned, was published late 2019. 


Victorian Sentencing Manual and Case Summaries

Sentencing Manual and Case Summaries

The Sentencing Manual - Case Summaries resource contains recent sentencing cases from the Victorian Court of Appeal and the County Court. 

These summaries describe the principal facts of the decisions and identify the final sentencing outcome for each case. The summaries are grouped by offence:

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Sentencing Snapshots

Sentencing Snapshots

Compiled by the Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria, the Sentencing Snapshot series includes data for 31 offences heard in the Victorian County Court and Supreme Court of Victoria. Sentencing Snapshots cover a five-year period for each offence and are updated every two years.

SACStat

SACStat

Compiled by the Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria SACStat is a comprehensive database of statistics showing sentencing outcomes for adult offenders in Victoria. 
Contains 200 offences sentenced in the Victorian County Court and Supreme Court of Victoria by offence name and over 500 offences sentenced in the Magistrates' Court.

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General Trends in Sentencing for Victorian Courts

Sentencing Trends Data

Compiled by the Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria Sentencing Trends Data coving the higher courts (County and Supreme Courts), Magistrates' Court and Children's Court:

Guide to Sentencing Schemes

Created by the Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria these guides provide an overview of sentencing schemes that apply to particular offences in Victoria. 


It includes all Category 1 and 2 offences, standard sentence offences, statutory minimum sentences and Category A and B serious youth offences as at 1 January 2021.

 

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Legislation
Sentencing
Legislation Set
Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic)
Confiscation Act 1997 (Vic)
Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 (Vic)
Crimes Act 1958 (Vic)
Crimes Act 1958 Reprints (Vic)
Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic)
Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic)
Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic)
Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic)
Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic)

Quick Links

Other Commonwealth Sentencing Resources

Sentencing of Federal Offenders in Australia – A Guide for Practitioners 

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has created a guide which summarises the major legislation provisions and leading authorities relating to the sentencing of federal offenders. This guide outlines the law relating to the sentencing of federal offenders in Australia.

The third edition of this comprehensive sentencing Guide reflects the law as at 1 June 2020, and has been updated by Des Lane of the Victorian bar.  It is an essential resource not only for CDPP lawyers, but for other legal practitioners, judicial officers, and others who deal with the sentencing of Federal Offenders.

 

Judicial College of NSW 

Judicial College of NSW - Sentencing Bench Book - Sentencing Commonwealth Offenders

The Judicial College of NSW produces a Sentencing Bench Book which has a specific section on the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) – sentencing Commonwealth Offenders.
 

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Mental Impairment and Personality Disorders

The 2020 COA judgment of Brown v The Queen [2020] VSCA 212 has impacted the forensic assessment of personality disorder and its relevance to sentencing.

Cases

Diagnostic tools

JCV Resources

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