The Law Handbook 2024

Chapter 1.4: The Children’s Court 41 Hearings at the Children’s Court Who can attend? Members of the public can attend proceedings in the Children’s Court unless a magistrate or judge excludes particular people from attending (s 523 CYF Act). The police usually advise parents, guardians or a support person to attend court with the child. Parents must attend cases heard in the Family Division. Interpreters The court must not proceed without an interpreter if a young person, parent or other party has difficulty communicating in English (s 526 CYF Act). Trained interpreters are made available at the court and can be requested through the court registry. More information about arranging an interpreter is available on the Children’s Court website. Giving evidence A young person charged with a criminal offence has the option to give sworn evidence or no evidence at all. Advice should be sought from a lawyer about this. Court procedure For more information about your court hearing, ask your lawyer (see ‘Legal representation’, above). Information is also available from the registry staff at the court. You can also visit the website of the Children’s Court virtual court (http://childrenscourt. courtnexus.com) , which provides information about court processes and the roles of those who work in courts. This site also includes two mock court hearings and interactive virtual tours of the court room. Adjournment, deferral and group conferencing The magistrate may adjourn a case (i.e. put off the case to be heard another day) for a number of reasons. These include: • the magistrate wants a pre-sentence report; • the magistrate defers sentencing; • the magistrate wants the young person to attend group conferencing. Pre-sentence reports Before deciding what sentence is appropriate, the magistrate may adjourn the case and ask for a report. This may be prepared by the Victorian Government Department of Families, Fairness and Housing ( DFFH ) Youth Justice service (s 571 CYF Act) or by the Children’s Court Clinic. Reports prepared by Youth Justice are usually completed in three to six weeks. Reports prepared by the Children’s Court Clinic usually take longer. While the reports are being written, the young person may be allowed to go home, although some bail conditions may be set. A young person who is to stay in custody will be taken to a remand centre. Deferral of sentencing If the court considers that it is in the child’s best interests to defer sentencing, it may do so for a period of up to four months. The case is adjourned to a fixed date. The magistrate may request that a pre-sentence report be prepared. The period of deferral is usually ordered to allow the young person to engage with Youth Justice and to take steps to address the issues that led to their offending behaviour. The court may also defer sentencing to allow the young person to participate in a group conference. The court will sentence the young person at the end of the deferral period, taking into account any progress the young person may have made during that time. Group conferencing What is group conferencing? The Group Conferencing Program operates as a pre- sentence option. Group conferencing aims to help the young person avoid further or more serious offending. The group conferencing process attempts to streng- then the young person’s family and community supports and identifies ways of making amends for the harm caused by the offending behaviour. Group conferencing also gives the victim the opportunity to explain the effect the crime has had on them.