• Koori people are greatly over-represented within the criminal justice system, more so than any other cultural group. Koori people are 12 times more likely than non-Indigenous people to be placed in an adult prison. Koori contact with police has increased by 31.5 per cent in the last five years.
• Numerous reports, such as the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the Bringing them Home report, have recommended that the legal system be modified to make it less culturally alienating and more tailored to the needs of Aboriginal offenders and their community.
• The Victorian Aboriginal Justice Agreement is an agreement developed between the State Government and the Victorian Koori community. One of the major recommendations has been the need for a Koori Court.

• Koori defendants who plead guilty to an offence and who have shown an intention to take responsibility for their actions;
• Koori offenders that live within, or have been charged within, the boundary area of a Koori Court; and
• Koori defendants who elect to go to the Koori Court.

All offences that can be heard in the Magistrates’ Court, except family violence and sexual offences, can be heard in the Koori Court.

As in conventional Magistrates' Courts, the ultimate decision regarding the sentencing order is left with the Magistrates. However, in the Koori Court, the Koori Elders or Respected Persons will provide the court with advice relating to cultural matters. The Magistrate might consider this advice when handing down the most appropriate sentencing order.

The Magistrate will retain all sentencing alternatives, including the power to send defendants to prison, as in the conventional Magistrates' Court. However, the primary goal of the court is to create sentencing orders that are more culturally appropriate to Aboriginal offenders, thereby reducing the rate of re-offending and increasing the positive participation of the Koori community in the sentencing process. The Koori Court therefore benefits not only the Koori community, but also the wider community.

Further information for defendants considering having their matter heard in the Koori Court is available in the Defendant’s Guide to the Koori Court.

Further information for legal practitioners is available in the Legal Representative’s Guide to the Koori Court.

To view the above publications, please use the links in the Related Publications panel on the right.

If you have any further questions, please contact the Koori Court Officer at your nearest Koori Court - see below.