Responding to a charge
If you have been charged with an offence and given a Court Attendance Notice (CAN), you will have to go to the specified court on a particular date. Before you go to court, you should check what you have been charged with and consider how you want to respond to those charges.
If you have lost your court papers, you can get a copy:
- from the Local Court registry
- by calling Court Service Centre on 1300 679 272 and asking for a copy to be posted to you
- from your lawyer.
Aboriginal people can get a copy by:
- speaking to the Aboriginal Service Unit worker at the Local Court
- calling the Aboriginal Services Unit on 1300 679 272.
If you are unsure how to respond to a charge, you should get legal advice.
Checking what you have been charged with
After you are charged, you may be given a number of documents, including CAN or a field CAN, Police Facts Sheet, Certificate of Blood Alcohol Concentration, Application for an Apprehended Violence Order.
If you were arrested and released on bail you may also get a custody management record, Bail Undertaking, a Property Docket.
Sometimes it can be difficult to understand what offence you have been charged with, the allegations against you, and what you have to do next.
For more information, see
Checking what you have been charged with.
Negotiating with the police
If you believe there is evidence that shows you did not commit an offence or you have been charged with a number of offences and you are happy to accept some but not all of them you can ask the police to withdraw (drop) the charges. If you want to plead guilty but disagree with some of the facts, you can ask the police to change the Police Facts Sheet. This is called 'making written representations to the police'.
You should make representations before you go to your first court date. There are certain ways you have to make your representations.
For more information, see
Negotiating with the police.
Pleading guilty or not guilty
Before you go to court you should decide how you want to respond to the charge.
At the first mention, the Court will ask you how you want to plead. When you 'enter a plea' you are telling the Court whether you are guilty or not guilty to the offence you are charged with.
If you plead guilty it means you agree with the police facts and that you committed the offence. The Court will usually decide your sentence on the same day unless your matter is serious, or if you agree or are ordered to participate in a course or program.
If you plead not guilty it means you didn't commit the offence or you have a defence. The Court will set another day for a hearing.
If you enter a plea and you change your mind, it may be possible to change your plea.
For more information, see
Pleading guilty or not guilty.
Applying for a mental health order
If you have a mental health impairment or cognitive impairment or are mentally ill or mentally disordered, you may be able to apply for the Court to dismiss your charges.
If you have a mental health impairment or cognitive impairment
If you have a mental health impairment or a cognitive impairment, or both, you can ask the Court to dismiss the charge and release you:
- into the care of a responsible person with or without conditions
- on the condition that you attend a place for assessment, treatment or support for your mental health impairment or cognitive impairment
- unconditionally.
A court can make this order if it appears that:
- you have, or had at the time of the alleged offence, a mental health impairment, cognitive impairment or both, but are not a mentally ill or mentally disordered person and
- it is more appropriate for the charge to be dismissed and for you to be discharged, rather than to have the criminal charge decided by the Court.
You will have to ask a psychologist or a psychiatrist to prepare a report. This report should state the mental health impairment or cognitive impairment you have and other information relevant to the application. It will usually also include a treatment or support plan.
It can take several weeks to get a report. You may be able to get financial help to pay for the report.
If an order is made and you don’t comply with the conditions, you can be brought back before the court within 12 months.
If you are mentally ill or mentally disordered
If you are a mentally ill or mentally disordered person, you can ask the Court to make an order for you to be:
- taken to, and detained in, a mental health facility for assessment
- taken to, and detained in, a mental health facility for assessment and if found not to be mentally ill or mentally disordered, to be brought back to court
- discharged unconditionally or subject to conditions into the care of a responsible person.
If the Court decides you are not mentally ill or mentally disordered, it can dismiss the application and carry on with the proceedings.
If you need want to apply for a mental health order, you should get legal advice as soon as possible.
The first court date
The first day you have to go to court is called a 'mention'. The Court will ask you how you want to plead. Depending on what you do you may be at court for a few hours or all day.
If you need more time to get legal advice before entering a plea, you can ask for an 'adjournment'.
If you can't make it to court you may be able to call the Court and ask for an adjournment, have the case moved to another court or send a Written notice of Pleading.
For more information, see
The first court date.
If you miss court
If you miss court, your case may be adjourned, or the Court may find you guilty in your absence.
If you are on bail and you miss court, you may be committing an offence and a warrant may be issued for your arrest.
If you have been charged with a driving offence and don’t go to court, it is important to call the Court to find out what happened. If the Court convicted you in your absence, you may also have been disqualified from driving.
If the Court found you guilty, you may be able to apply to have the decision annulled (cancelled) and your case re-heard.
For more information, see
If you miss court.