Victim Offender Mediation
As part of the sentencing process in the District Court, the Court may order the preparation of a mediation report (VMR), being a report about a mediation or attempted mediation between an offender and a victim. This report is ordered pursuant to Sentencing Act 1995 (WA) Part 3 Div 5.
Victim offender mediations are conducted by the Victim Offender Mediation Unit (VMU), part of the Department of Justice, Corrective Services.
Prior to requesting the Court to order a mediation report, a lawyer acting for an offender should contact the VMU and discuss whether the offence is a suitable one to be the subject of a victim offender mediation.
The VMU will have an officer at the District Court between 8:30am and 10:30am each Friday while the Sentence Mention Hearings are being conducted. The VMU officer will be available to assist practitioners to determine whether or not a particular matter would be suitable for victim offender mediation. If it is, the presiding Judicial Officer can order the preparation of a mediation report and list the sentencing hearing for a time when the report will have been prepared.
The usual orders will permit counsel for the prosecution and the offender to be provided with a copy of the report as soon as it is provided to the Court, on the same basis as a pre-sentence report.
Prior to requesting the Court to order a mediation report, a lawyer acting for an offender should contact the VMU and discuss whether the offence is a suitable one to be the subject of a victim offender mediation.
If on a committal for sentence the Magistrate does not order the preparation of a VMR, the parties may seek an order for a VMR from the District Court. This should be done by way of consent order. The usual orders sought would be:
- A mediation report be prepared pursuant to Sentencing Act 1995 (WA) s27.
- The sentencing hearing listed for [date] be vacated and the sentencing hearing relisted to the next available date after [7 weeks from the date of the consent order].
- [If required] The accused’s bail be varied by the insertion of the following condition at the end of the bail conditions: “As an exception to the conditions set out above, the accused may have contact with [complainant’s name] at the direction of officers of the Victim Offender Mediation Unit.
- [If required] The bail variation in paragraph 3 only takes effect once the accused has signed amended bail papers.
The report should be ordered as soon as practicable after the accused has been committed for sentence. Counsel for the accused should liaise with VMU staff at the relevant location to confirm that the offences are suitable for victim offender mediation prior to submitting the consent order to the prosecutor for signature.
As a general rule drug offences, and offences of a sexual nature are not suitable for victim offender mediation.
The types of offences which tend to be suitable for victim offender mediation include:
- Robbery and aggravated robbery offences, especially where the offender desires to apologise and/or to repay some or all of the money in question.
- Fraud or stealing offences, including stealing as a servant, especially where the offender desires to apologise and/or to repay some or all of the money in question.
- Property damages offences, where the offender desires to apologise for the damage caused and/ or pay compensation.
- Burglary and aggravated burglary offences.
- Assault cases, including family violence matters (unless the parties are or were in an intimate relationship).
- Road traffic offences, whenever death or injury to persons, or damage to property, occurs.
Offences which proceed to trial do not tend to be suitable for victim offender mediation.
The release of a mediation report by the Court to the prosecutor to the offender is subject to the same restrictions on use and confidentiality as a pre-sentence report. These obligations are contained in the Consolidated Practice Directions & Circulars, Sentencing Part 8. The conditions include that: The report is only to be used for the purpose of the sentencing.
- If made available by email, only one copy is to be printed.
- The report is to be retained in the possession of the file manager or sentencing counsel of the prosecutor or a legal practitioner who has filed a notice of acting on behalf of the offender.
- A practitioner who retains possession of the report is to take appropriate steps to ensure that the contents of the report remain confidential.
- The report (and any attachments) is to be returned to the court with a Notice of Ceasing to Act if the practitioner ceases to act.
- At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, counsel appearing for the prosecutor and the offender are each to hand their respective copies of the report to the Associate to the Judge who sentences the offender.
- Any electronic copy is to be deleted.
The VMU has offices in Albany, Broome, Kalgoorlie, Bunbury, Kununurra, Busselton, South Hedland and Geraldton. For contact details, see the Department of Justice website.
Last updated: 9-Jul-2019
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