Sentencing Advisory Council

Legal advisory body in Victoria

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)

This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The talk page may contain suggestions. (December 2023)

|

This article possibly contains original research. It cites many primary sources in the form of specific reports or news stories on them, but has no citations for the connections between them, or the overall message. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (December 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources.
Find sources: "Sentencing Advisory Council" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria is an independent statutory body that was established by the Victorian Government in 2004 to conduct research on sentencing in Victoria, Australia.[1] The Council comprises a board of between 11 and 14 directors, who are supported by a secretary. In Australia, there are also sentencing councils in New South Wales,[2] Queensland[3] and Tasmania.[4] There are also sentencing councils in some overseas jurisdictions, such as in England and Wales and in Scotland.

## History[edit]

In 2000, the Victorian Government requested a review of aspects of Victoria's sentencing laws, which was undertaken by Professor Arie Frieberg. The 2002 report arising out of that review, Pathways to Justice, recommended a number of changes to Victoria's sentencing system, including the establishment of a Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council.[5] That legislation was passed in 2003, and the Council formally came into operation in 2004.[citation needed] Professor Frieberg was the inaugural Chair of the Council from 2004 to his retirement in 2022[6] and was also the Chair of the Tasmanian Sentencing Advisory Council until 2021.[7]

## Directors[edit]

The legislation establishing the Council outlines a number of specific qualifications to be nominated by the Attorney-General of Victoria and then appointed by the Governor of Victoria. Some of the qualifications include the need for a person to be considered a highly experienced prosecution and defence lawyer with other criminal justice experience.[8][5]

## References from the Attorney-General[edit]

Over the years, Victoria’s Attorney-General has given the Council terms of reference seeking its advice on a range of topics, such as the sentencing of family violence offenders,[9] reforms to restitution and compensation orders[10] and the introduction of a sentencing guidelines council.[11] The Council’s responses to terms of reference have resulted in changes to maximum penalties for offences[12] and breaches of intervention orders;[13] the abolition of suspended sentences,[14] the introduction of a sentence indication scheme[15] and the addition of hatred and prejudice as a factor in sentencing.[16][original research]

## Community education[edit]

The Council hosts an online interactive sentencing simulation known as ‘Virtual You be the Judge’,[17] presenting face-to-face community education sessions for adults, developing and publishing teaching materials and lesson plans,[18] and developing and publishing plain-language guides to sentencing law and practice.[19]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Sentencing Amendment Act 2003 (Vic)" (PDF). 6 May 2003.
2. ^ ‘NSW Sentencing Council’. NSW Government.
3. ^ ‘Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council’. Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council.
4. ^ ‘The Sentencing Advisory Council’. Tasmanian Sentencing Advisory Council.
5. ^ a b ‘About Us’, Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council.
6. ^ ’Retirement Of Sentencing Advisory Council Chair', Premier of Victoria (2022).
7. ^ ‘About the Sentencing Advisory Council’. Tasmanian Sentencing Advisory Council.
8. ^ Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s 108F.
9. ^ Swift, Certain and Fair Approaches to Sentencing Family Violence Offenders: Report, 2017
10. ^ Sentencing Advisory Council, Restitution and Compensation Orders: Report, 2018
11. ^ Sentencing Advisory Council, A Sentencing Guidelines Council for Victoria: Report, 2018
12. ^ Parliament of Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Council, Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session, Wednesday, 12 March 2008, p. 687
13. ^ Parliament of Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Council, Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session, Friday, 12 September 2008, p. 3819
14. ^ Parliament of Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Council, Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session, Questions on Notice, Thursday, 26 February 2009, p. 1039
15. ^ Parliament of Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, Fifty-Seventh Parliament, First Session, p. 3152
16. ^ Parliament of Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Council, Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session, Tuesday, 24 November 2009, pp.5558
17. ^ Dennis Byles and Chris Gill, ‘Citizen Judges’ (2014) 88(12) Law Institute Journal 52.
18. ^ ‘Legal studies resources’. Victoria Law Foundation.
19. ^ Sentencing Advisory Council, A Quick Guide to Sentencing (5th edition, 2021).

This article needs additional or more specific categories. Please help out by adding categories to it so that it can be listed with similar articles. (October 2023)

|