4513.0 - Criminal Courts, Australia, 2017-18 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 28/02/2019   
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TASMANIA

DEFENDANTS FINALISED

During 2017–18, there were 14,283 defendants finalised in Tasmania’s criminal courts, an increase of 9% (1,238) on the previous year. They comprised 2% of all defendants finalised nationally.

The median age of defendants was 33 years. Three-quarters (75%) of all defendants were male. (Table 36)

The rate of defendants finalised was 3,077 per 100,000 persons (aged 10 years and over). (Table 54)

DEFENDANTS FINALISED, Tasmania, 2010–11 to 2017–18
DEFENDANTS FINALISED, Tasmania, 2010–11 to 2017–18

Australian Bureau of Statistics
© Commonwealth of Australia 2019.


COURT LEVEL

During 2017–18, the majority (92%, 13,115) of defendants were finalised in the Magistrates' Courts.

From the previous year, the number of defendants finalised in each court level increased by:

  • 14% (57) in the Higher Courts
  • 10% (1,158) in the Magistrates’ Courts
  • 2% (14) in the Children’s Courts. (Table 36)


PRINCIPAL OFFENCE

During 2017–18, over half of all defendants had one of the following principal offences:
  • Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences (40%, 5,646), which increased by 5% (282)
  • Acts intended to cause injury (16%, 2,250), which increased by 16% (308). (Table 36)


METHOD OF FINALISATION

During 2017–18, nine in ten defendants (12,742) had their matter(s) adjudicated. The majority of these defendants (11,140) were proven guilty, of which most (10,226) entered a guilty plea.

Around 6% of defendants had their matter(s) withdrawn by the prosecution or transferred to another court level. (Table 36)


PRINCIPAL SENTENCE AND SENTENCE LENGTH1

Of the 11,140 defendants proven guilty during 2017–18:
  • 80% (8,880) were sentenced to a non-custodial order, most commonly a fine (6,039), with a median amount of $400
  • One in five (2,264) received a custodial sentence (an increase of 3% from 2016–17)
  • The median sentence length for custody in a correction institution2 was 4 months. (Tables 8, 36, 58d and 60)

Footnotes

1 Sentence length data for Tasmania include Magistrates’ and Children’s Courts only (see Explanatory Note 104).
2 Excluding life and indeterminate imprisonment (see Explanatory Note 48).