Giulia Damiano

Magistrates’ Court of Victoria

The Magistrates' Court of Victoria (the Court) is the busiest court in the state (based on volume) and handles approximately 90 per cent of all cases that come before Victorian courts each year. The primary focus of the Court is to provide justice for Victorians in both metropolitan and regional locations. The Court exercises powers across a number of jurisdictions including civil, criminal, family law and intervention orders. The Court is the first level of the Victorian Court system. Most criminal cases are first heard in this court in some form. Unlike the Supreme and County Courts, Magistrates' Courts have no jury. The Court delivers high quality registry services and has a number of specialist divisions including the Assessment and Referral Court List, the Drug Court, the Koori Court, the Neighbourhood Justice Centre and a Sexual Offences List. These programs are designed to assist accused with issues like substance abuse and mental illness and provide support for magistrates dealing with such persons. The Court aims to be an innovative, accessible and responsive court that provides quality services to the Victorian community. And with 51 locations and over 1,000 staff across the state we are a large and diverse group of people which allows us to deliver quality projects and services to the community.