MAGISTRATES’ COURTS

Magistrates' Courts operate in all states and territories of Australia and mainly deal with criminal matters relating to summary offences (such as traffic offences and disorderly behaviour). Magistrates’ Courts also conduct preliminary/committal hearings for indictable offences and in some circumstances may deal with less serious indictable offences. For more information see Explanatory Notes paragraphs 11 and 14.

Defendants finalised

There were 561,781 defendants finalised in the Magistrates’ Courts in 2016–17, which represented 92% of all defendants finalised nationally. (Table 1)

FIGURE 3: NUMBER OF DEFENDANTS FINALISED, Magistrates’ Courts, Method of finalisation, Principal sentence, 2016–17



The number of defendants finalised in the Magistrates’ Courts increased by less than one per cent (1,937) nationally, from 559,844 defendants in 2015–16. (Table 1)


Summary characteristics

Nine in ten (89% or 499,937) defendants finalised in the Magistrates’ Courts in 2016–17 had their matter(s) adjudicated, of which 98% (490,515) were proven guilty. (Table 1)

Around 8% (45,413) of persons finalised in the Magistrates’ Courts had their matter(s) withdrawn by the prosecution, most commonly for Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences (30% or 13,665), or for Acts intended to cause injury (24% or 10,686). (Table 4)

Around 3% (14,588) of person defendants who were finalised in the Magistrates’ Courts had their matter(s) transferred to another court level. Transfers were more common amongst those with a principal offence of:

• Homicide and related offences (76% or 376);
• Robbery, extortion and related offences (73% or 1,352); and
• Sexual assault and related offences (51% or 2,744). (Table 4)

There were 134,278 female defendants finalised in the Magistrates’ Courts, an increase of 4% (4,550) nationally since 2015–16. The number of males remained stable, comprising three-quarters (75% or 420,469) of all defendants finalised within the Magistrates’ Courts in 2016–17. (Table 1)

Principal offence

Two in five (39% or 216,042) defendants finalised in the Magistrates’ Court had a principal offence of Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences, which was the most common offence for both male (38% or 157,757) and female (40% or 53,921) defendants in 2016–17. Following this:

• 53,786 (13%) male defendants had a principal offence of Acts intended to cause injury; and
• 15,327 (11%) female defendants had a principal offence of Theft and related offences. (Tables 1 and 4)

In 2016–17, the number of defendants finalised for Breach of violence and non-violence restraining orders increased by 14% (2,877) to 22,908, whilst Assault offences increased by 7% (3,760) to 61,233 defendants. Defendant numbers for both these offences reached their highest levels recorded since the series began in 2008–09. (Table 1)

Between 2015–16 and 2016–17, the greatest decrease in the number of defendants finalised occurred for Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences (3% or 6,849), largely due to declines in defendants with a principal offence of Exceeding the prescribed content of alcohol or other substance limit (5% or 3,551), or Driver licence offences (4% or 3,091). (Table 1)

Principal sentence

In 2016–17, nine in ten (89% or 438,478) defendants proven guilty in the Magistrates’ Courts were sentenced to a non-custodial order. Of these:

• 72% (315,479) were sentenced to a monetary order;
• 21% (92,752) received an other non-custodial order, which includes good behaviour bonds, license disqualification, or nominal penalties; and
• 7% (30,253) were sentenced to a community supervision or work order. (Table 7)

Four out of five defendants who were proven guilty for a Traffic and vehicle regulatory offence (80% or 159,708) were sentenced to a monetary order. (Table 10)

The median fine amount for defendants with a principal proven offence of Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences in the Magistrates’ Courts was $450. (Table 59)

There were 52,011 defendants sentenced to a custodial order in 2016–17, with over three in five (63% or 32,952) of these defendants sentenced to custody in a correctional institution. (Table 10)

In 2016–17, Custody in a correctional institution was the most common sentence amongst defendants with a principal proven offence of:

• Robbery, extortion and related offences (47% or 101); and
• Unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter (41% or 2,652). (Table 10)

The median sentence length for all defendants sentenced to Custody in a correctional institution (excluding life and indeterminate) was 6 months. (Table 57b)