Shepparton is the fifth court in Victoria to offer the Assessment and Referral Court.
ARC supervising magistrate Ros Porter said the new court was a sentencing option designed to provide tailored support for people with significant mental illness or cognitive disabilities who had criminal matters before the court.
She said there were multiple ways people could get their matters heard in the specialist court, including it being suggested by lawyers or a magistrate in regular court because they wanted ARC to be “as accessible as possible”.
“Our goal is to bring about lasting behaviour change that is going to support the safety of the local community, and make major improvements in the lives of the individuals before the court,” Ms Porter said.
“There’s a whole range of matters that might come into ARC.
“The magistrate decides on suitability of cases.”
A person must be diagnosed with a mental illness, acquired brain injury, autism, an intellectual disability or neurological impairment to be eligible for ARC.
People who have one or more of these conditions must also agree to plead guilty and be prepared to get involved in an “intensive court process”, Ms Porter said.
Shepparton ARC magistrate Allison Vaughan said ARC was “such a wonderful resource” for Shepparton to have as the headquarters court of the Hume region.
“There’s a number of ways people can be referred, which I think just means that we’re going to be able to offer a wider section of people that opportunity,” she said.
Ms Vaughan said the set-up was different to a “strict court environment”, and ARC proceedings were “more conversational”.
“The magistrate isn’t sitting up on the bench like we usually would, we come down to a round table,” she said.
“It's really a conversation that takes place between the participant and the magistrate, and the caseworker will give updates as well.”
Ms Vaughan said the case manager did “a lot of the heavy lifting” when court wasn’t scheduled, and helped the participant with support services they were engaged in.
Everyone else involved in the case also sits around the table, including the ARC participant, a police prosecutor, support people and the participant’s lawyer, who is there to help them “navigate legal issues”.
Although ARC is different to Magistrates’ Court proceedings, Ms Vaughan said there was “still a recognition of the crimes that have been committed”, and part of that was due to the presence of the police prosecutor.
“They are still there as a prosecutor representing Victoria Police, but it’s a very different approach to how we would normally see our police prosecutors in the mainstream court,” she said.
“Although it’s a therapeutic court, there’s still accountability.
“Because of the work and the process the participant has gone through, that often results in a sentence that’s reflective of the hard work they’ve done, rather than a sentence that may have been reflective at the time when the offences were committed.”
Ms Porter said the arrival of ARC meant people who were unwell at the time of offending wouldn’t be treated “unjustly”.
“It really is an amazing sentencing option for some of the most vulnerable people,” she said.
“What we’re really trying to do is get the right support and treatment for people before the court.”
The court had its first sitting day at the Shepparton Law Courts in February, and three days a month will be dedicated to ARC and its participants.
The arrival of ARC completes the full suite of specialist courts at Shepparton, including Drug Court, Koori Court and Children’s Court.
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