Common questions about sexual offence charges in Victoria.

Most sexual offences are indictable: the matter starts in the Magistrates' Court, proceeds through a committal where the evidence is tested, and is then tried in the County Court of Victoria.

Most sexual offences are indictable offences. The matter begins with a filing hearing in the Magistrates' Court and proceeds to a committal stage, where the prosecution evidence is disclosed and can be tested. If the matter proceeds, it is then transferred to the County Court of Victoria for trial or plea. The process is often lengthy, and the decisions made at the early stages, including at the committal, can have a real effect on how the matter runs. Obtaining advice early, before any police interview, gives the best position from which to approach what follows.

Speak to a lawyer before any police interview. You have the right to silence beyond providing your name and address, and what is said in an interview becomes part of the prosecution brief.

Outside of providing your name and address, you are not required to answer police questions. What you say in a record of interview becomes part of the prosecution brief and can be used in evidence, including in ways that may limit the defences available later. Sexual offence allegations are serious and the interview is a significant moment in the matter. If police have asked you to attend an interview, contact the firm before you go, so the allegations can be reviewed and you can be advised on whether to participate and on what terms.

Victoria's affirmative consent model defines consent in law and sets out what the prosecution must establish about the accused's state of mind regarding consent.

Victoria applies an affirmative consent model. The law defines what consent is, and it sets out what the prosecution must prove about the accused's state of mind: in broad terms, that the accused did not reasonably believe the other person was consenting. Where consent is the issue in a matter, how the evidence bears on those questions is central to the defence. The model is one of the reasons a close reading of the brief matters: the relevant question is what the prosecution can actually establish about consent and the accused's state of mind, on the evidence available.

A finding of guilt for a registrable offence places a person on the Sex Offenders Register under the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004, with reporting obligations separate from the sentence.

The Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 provides for a register of people found guilty of certain sexual offences. Whether registration applies depends on the specific offence. Registration brings reporting obligations that operate separately from, and in addition to, any sentence imposed by the court. Because the registration consequences can be significant and long-lasting, they are explained and factored in when advising on how to approach a matter, including any decision on plea.

Non-recent allegations are prosecuted in the same courts as recent matters. The passage of time raises particular questions about evidence and recollection that are worked through carefully.

Allegations of sexual offending that date back many years, sometimes decades, are prosecuted in Victoria in the same courts and under the law as it applied at the relevant time. The passage of time does not prevent a prosecution, but it does raise particular issues: the availability and reliability of evidence, questions of recollection, and the absence of material that might once have existed. Those issues are examined closely as part of reviewing the brief in a non-recent matter.