DURATION OF CASES ADJUDICATED

The nature of the charges presented to the court for a defendant, along with the process required to deal with the charges, impact on the time required for a court to finalise a case. Court resources and complexity of cases can also have an impact. The duration of a case is calculated from the date of initiation to the date of finalisation of the case (for more information about duration see paragraph 61 of the Explanatory Notes).

For adjudicated defendants, the length of time to finalise cases increased between 2001-02 and 2011-12. In 2001–02 the proportion of defendants with cases finalised in less than 13 weeks was 33%, while the proportion of defendants with cases finalised in 52 weeks or more after initiation was 14%. The comparable figures for 2011-12 were 15% and 24% respectively.

For 2011-12, of defendants that went to trial and were found guilty by the court, more than half (52%) were finalised 52 weeks or more after initiation. Of those acquitted, 35% were finalised in this same time period. For defendants who pleaded guilty in 2011-12, 18% were finalised in less than 13 weeks, with 50% finalised in less than 26 weeks.

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