Committal Proceedings - NSW

1. If you have been charged with an offence that is expected to be committed on indictment to the District or Supreme Court your matter will go through a process called the Early Appropriate Guilty Plea (EAGP) scheme.
   The EAGP process includes several steps before your matter reaches the District or Supreme Court.
2. If your matter is to be dealt with in the District or Supreme Court, committal proceedings will take place prior to the commencement of your trial.
3. At the end of the Local Court proceedings, you will either be committed for sentence or trial in the District or Supreme Court.
4. If you plead guilty, or are found guilty, a number of different sentences can be imposed.

As in most other jurisdictions, in NSW committal hearings do not typically occur. Your lawyer may make an application that a witness be examined during committal proceedings. The judge will only make that direction if they are satisfied there are substantial reasons why, in the interests of justice, the witness should attend to give evidence. 

At the first stage of the EAGP process, the Judge will make orders for the brief of evidence to be served. You are entitled to receive all of the evidence the police are alleging before entering any pleas. This stage is an 8 week adjournment period.

The brief of evidence is likely to contain statements from Police officers involved in the matter as well as any alleged victims. Examples of other types of evidence that may form part of your brief of evidence includes CCTV, phone records, search warrant material.

Once the brief of evidence has been served, the Prosecution are then required to ‘certify’ the charges that they will be proceeding with. This involves a senior prosecutor reviewing the brief of evidence to determine whether the charges that were initially laid are the appropriate charges based on the evidence.

Essentially, a charge certificate is a document that states the charges that the prosecution will be proceeding with. It should also outline which charges (if any) have been withdrawn, and any back up or related offences that the Prosecution will rely on as an ‘in the alternative’ charge. This stage is a 6-week adjournment period.

The Prosecution is required to file a charge certificate within six months from the first court appearance for the matter. If the Prosecution fail to do so, the Judge may decide to adjourn the matter, or dismiss the charges (although this is exceptionally rare). 

This stage often involves negotiations. A case conference is arranged between your lawyer and the ODPP senior prosecutor who certified the charges. You need to be available to take a phone call or nearby for your lawyer to get instructions from you about the negotiations. The purpose of the case conferencing stage is to facilitate resolving the matter in an expeditious way.

If it resolves in a way that the parties ultimately agree about the charges and facts, then you will be committed for sentence. Further case conferences can be held if it assists to get closer to a resolution. If there is no resolution, then you will be committed for trial. A case conference can also be an opportunity for the parties to start narrowing issues in dispute if the matter appears likely to be proceeding to a later trial.  

If matters are resolved at this time, pleas of guilty entered to charges that are still in the Local Court, before committal to the District or Supreme Court, will ordinarily attract a sentencing discount of 25%. If pleas of guilty are entered to charges after committal, and well before any trial, the discount ordinarily is reduced to 10%.  

Following the case conferencing stage, a case conferencing certificate (‘CCC’) is prepared by the prosecutors. It is a formal document that states what charges you are currently charged with. It also contains an outline of any offers made by your lawyers or the prosecution during the negotiations, and whether the offers were accepted or rejected.

This document is then provided to the court at the final mention in the Local Court. It is placed in a sealed envelope.

The case conference certificate can be retrieved by a judge of the District Court at the conclusion of the matter if it could be relevant to applying sentencing discounts. For example, you may be able to submit that a 25% discount should be applied at sentencing if you were found guilty at trial of a statutory offence that you offered to plead guilty to at the earlier case conferencing state, and if acquitted of the more serious primary charge that the ODPP refused to withdraw.

Q: What is the purpose of committal proceedings?

A: There are two main purposes for these proceedings. They are:

1. For the prosecution to decide which charges to proceed with, and
2. For you to have ample opportunity to decide whether to plead guilty or not guilty to the charge(s).

Q: What does it mean to be committed for sentence?

A: This means that a plea of guilty is entered and you will be sentenced in the District Court by a judge.

Q: What does it mean to be committed for trial?

A: This means that a plea of not guilty is entered and your case will go to trial. A finding of guilty or not guilty will be decided by a judge or jury.

Q: Is the process any different if I don’t have a lawyer?

A: Yes, there are provisions that mean the process happens slightly differently if you don’t have a lawyer, including changes to the timing. This means that the proceedings may take slightly longer than they would if you do have a lawyer.

Q: Can a Judge still dismiss the charges during committal?

A: No. Previously, the law about committal proceedings allowed a Judge to dismiss charges before they reach the District or Supreme Court. The introduction of amendments resulted in judges no longer being authorised to dismiss matters or charges during committal proceedings. However, a Judge may exclude prosecutorial witnesses in certain circumstances.