Picture: AAP

The Victorian model will be based on the highly successful sentencing councils in the United Kingdom and will be made up of judges and magistrates, victims of crime representatives, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Victoria Police, legal stakeholders and academia.

It is intended that the Victorian Sentencing Guidelines Council will develop sentencing guidance for the courts, after engaging in wide consultation with the Victorian community.

In the UK, the primary role of the Sentencing Council of England and Wales is to research and develop sentencing guidelines for particular offences after engaging in broad consultation with experts and the public. Once developed, those guidelines have a binding effect on the lower courts.

The Sentencing Advisory Council’s report, Sentencing Guidance in Victoria, stated that the establishment of a Victorian Sentencing Guidelines Council should be given further consideration.

The Sentencing Advisory Council suggested that an independent council, comprised of judicial and non-judicial members, could provide comprehensive and methodical guidance to sentencing courts.

The Government will undertake further work to determine exactly how the Victorian Sentencing Guidelines Council will operate in practice. The Sentencing Advisory Council will lead extensive consultation with the judiciary and the Victorian community on this proposal later this year.

The Government intends to introduce legislation to establish the council in 2018.