sentencing options

what if I'm found guilty?

If you are over 18 when you committed the offence, your case will be heard in the Magistrates' Court. For very serious offences (such as armed robbery) the case will have to be heard in the County Court.

what if I'm found guilty?

The main options a magistrate or judge has if you are found guilty of an offence are listed below.

Finding the charge proven and dismissing it.
An adjourned undertaking (known as a 'good behaviour bond'): You can be made to give a sum of money to the court fund as part of the bond. If you stay out of trouble until the period of the bond is finished there is no further action. (This can be with or without conviction.)
A section 76 bond (under the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981): For a first offence of using or possessing cannabis you are virtually guaranteed a good behaviour bond so long as it is a 'small quantity' of cannabis (less than 50 grams) and it is all for personal use. For a first-time offence of use of heroin, amphetamines or cocaine, you are also likely to be placed on a bond, with the compulsory condition that you complete an approved drug education and information program.
A fine (with or without conviction): The more serious the charge and the more prior convictions you have, the bigger the fine is likely to be. The court has to take into account your capacity to pay, but often you won't be able to pay the fine all at once. You can ask for more time, or to pay by weekly instalments. You can also apply to have the fine converted into community work (at a conversion rate of $20 per hour).
A Community-based Order (CBO) (with or without conviction): With these orders, you can be made to do all or some of the following:
be supervised by a correctional services officer;
do unpaid community work;
do educational programs;
have treatment for drug and alcohol use;
be tested for drug and alcohol use; and
live at a certain place.
If you don't comply with a CBO or if you commit more offences while the CBO is still going, you will normally be brought back to court and be re-sentenced.
Intensive Corrections Order (ICO) (with conviction): These are sentences of imprisonment that are served in the community. These have more supervision and more intensive community work than CBOs.
Combined Custody and Treatment Order (CCTO) (with conviction): These can be made when the court is satisfied that drunkenness or drug addiction contributed to you committing the offence and is considering sentencing you to a term of not more than 12 months imprisonment. The first six months of the CCTO have to be served in custody and the remaining time can be served in the community. But if the order is breached while it is being served in the community, the whole part of that order has to be served in custody.
A suspended prison sentence: This means that you are given a jail sentence and then told that you do not have to serve the sentence unless you commit more offences within a certain time (typically 12, 18 or 24 months). If you do commit a further offence which is punishable by imprisonment (which includes minor theft or begging, but does not include the charge of using a small quantity (less than 50 grams) of cannabis), you will be brought back to court and will normally be made to serve the full sentence, plus any extra time for the new charges. The only way you can avoid serving the suspended sentence is if you can convince the court that there are 'exceptional circumstances' that have come about since you received the suspended sentence. This is very difficult to prove.
A partially suspended sentence: This means that you serve part of the sentence straight away and then only have to serve the rest if you commit more offences. You cannot get a suspended Youth Training Centre sentence.
An order to serve a prison sentence: In the Magistrates' Court, the longest sentence you can possibly get is five years, but this is very unusual. Note that Victoria no longer has a 'remissions' system, which used to entitle adult prisoners to early release (by up to a third of their sentence) if they had been of good behaviour. The only option for early release now is if you are sentenced to at least 12 months jail and the magistrate makes an order that you become eligible for parole after a certain period of time, e.g. an 18-month head sentence with a non-parole ('bottom') period of nine months. This means that, after serving nine months, you become eligible for parole. The Parole Board then decides whether or not you should be released on parole. If you are under 21 years of age when you are convicted you can be sentenced to up to two years at a Youth Training Centre.
Deferral of sentence: If you are under 25 years of age, the court can defer sentencing of a matter for up to six months to see how you are going, in particular to see whether or not you have re-offended.