Top 5 Criminal Lawyers in Bendigo

Where Bendigo criminal cases are heard

Bendigo's courts share one building, the Bendigo Law Courts at 188 Hargreaves Street, on the corner of Mundy Street. It opened in February 2023. Use the Hargreaves Street entrance for the Magistrates', County and Supreme Courts, and the Mundy Street entrance for the Children's Court. The Magistrates' Court phone is (03) 9087 5733. It sits on weekdays, but the court's own pages give slightly different opening times, so call before you go.

Most cases start in the Magistrates' Court, which hears summary offences, some indictable offences and committal hearings, as well as family violence and personal safety intervention orders. Besides its general criminal lists, the court runs:

• Koori Court: a culturally safe court where Elders or Respected Persons can give cultural advice to the magistrate. It's for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who plead guilty and choose to have their case heard there, and a magistrate decides whether you're eligible. Some sexual offences are excluded. Ask for the Koori Court Officer at Balak Services on level 1
• Assessment and Referral Court: for people with a mental illness, intellectual disability, acquired brain injury, autism or a neurological impairment (including dementia) that substantially reduces their capacity for self care, self management, social interaction or communication. ARC links them with support under an individual plan, with regular reviews before a magistrate
• Court Integrated Services Program: CISP, a bail support program run through the court
• Specialist Family Violence Court: one of Victoria's specialist courts, where intervention orders can be heard together with related bail applications and criminal pleas

A magistrate can jail you for up to 2 years for one offence, or 5 years in total. More serious charges go through a committal and then usually to the County Court, which sits in Bendigo on circuit, as does the Supreme Court. Murder, treason and some other very serious charges are tried in the Supreme Court. If your filing hearing was on or after 28 December 2025, committal now has a filing hearing, a committal case conference (unless it's dispensed with) and a committal mention, with a committal hearing only if the magistrate allows witnesses to be cross-examined. Cases that started earlier follow the old process. Ask your lawyer how this affects your case.

Bail in Bendigo and Victoria's tougher bail laws

The Bendigo Magistrates' Court only sits on weekdays. If you're arrested when it's closed, police can grant bail, call a bail justice, or take you before the Bail and Remand Court in Melbourne, which sits seven days a week until 9pm. For the most serious charges, only a court can decide bail. If bail is refused, you stay in custody until you can be taken to court.

Victoria tightened its bail laws in stages from March 2025, and the final tranche started on 31 March 2026. Community safety is now of overarching importance in every bail decision, and there are three tests depending on the charge:

• Exceptional circumstances: for the most serious charges, including murder, armed robbery, aggravated burglary, home invasion, carjacking and commercial drug trafficking, you must show exceptional circumstances to get bail
• Compelling reason: for other serious charges, and since 31 March 2026 for many indictable offences allegedly committed while you were already on bail for another indictable offence, you must show a compelling reason
• High degree of probability: since 30 September 2025, if you're charged with armed robbery, aggravated burglary, home invasion or carjacking while already on bail for one of those offences, the court must be satisfied to a high degree of probability that you won't commit another

For every charge, bail can be refused if there's an unacceptable risk you would commit a serious offence, endanger someone, interfere with witnesses or not turn up. Committing an indictable offence while on bail and breaching a bail conduct condition are also offences, each with up to 3 months jail, though some of these rules apply only to adults.

If you're on bail and dealing with a disability or illness, drug or alcohol dependency, homelessness, or a lack of social, family or economic support that contributes to your offending, ask about CISP at the Bendigo court ([email protected]). You get a case manager and referrals to services such as drug and alcohol treatment, housing and mental health support, usually for about four months, and you may need to come back before a magistrate each month so they can check your progress.

Young people charged in Bendigo

The Children's Court is based at the Bendigo Law Courts, with its own entrance on Mundy Street, and shares the (03) 9087 5733 phone line with the Magistrates' Court.

• Age of criminal responsibility: raised to 12 on 30 September 2025
• Adult time: for offences allegedly committed on or after 27 February 2026, young people aged 15 to 17 charged with home invasion, aggravated home invasion, aggravated carjacking or causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence, including machete attacks, have their cases heard in the adult courts. For 14 year olds charged with those offences, and for carjacking at 14 to 17, there's a presumption the case goes to an adult court
• Filing hearings: for these charges are held at the Melbourne Children's Court. A child outside metropolitan Melbourne may be allowed to appear by video link
• Youth Justice Act 2024: since 30 September 2026, most criminal procedure for children sits under this Act, which also sets up police youth warnings and cautions

The Children's Court has its own diversion scheme for young people. If your child has been charged with one of the violent offences above, get a lawyer involved early, as the case may go to an adult court where much higher penalties apply.

Diversion, spent convictions and when a conviction isn't recorded

If the offence isn't too serious, such as shop theft, minor damage or a small amount of drugs, you may be offered the Criminal Justice Diversion Program in the Magistrates' Court. You accept responsibility, which isn't a plea of guilty, and complete a plan that might include an apology, counselling or a donation. The prosecution has to agree, and the plan usually runs for up to 12 months. If you complete it, you're discharged without any finding of guilt, so there's no conviction. Diversion isn't available for offences with a minimum penalty or licence loss, or for drink or drug driving.

The court can also find you guilty without recording a conviction, after looking at the offence, your character and history, and the effect on your work and wellbeing. A finding of guilt without conviction is spent straight away. So are all convictions for offences committed under 15, and infringement convictions.

Once a conviction is spent, it no longer forms part of your criminal record and in most cases you don't have to disclose it.

If police want to interview you

Bendigo Police Station is at 221 to 227 High Street, and its reception counter and phone line, (03) 5448 1300, are open 24 hours. Before questioning, police must tell you that you don't have to say or do anything, and that anything you say may be used as evidence. They must also tell you that you can contact a friend or relative and a lawyer, and give you a reasonable time to do it, with a private conversation with your lawyer where practicable. If your English isn't good enough, you have the right to an interpreter. Police can skip some of these steps if it's urgent or evidence could be destroyed.

You can refuse to answer questions. Police can ask for your name and address if they have a lawful reason, and refusing then is an offence. Police generally can't question a young person under 18 in custody unless a parent, guardian or independent person is there, except where the delay would put someone's safety at risk, or contacting the adult would let an accomplice escape or evidence be destroyed.

Free and low cost criminal law help in Bendigo

• Victoria Legal Aid, Bendigo: 424 Hargreaves Street, (03) 5448 2333 or 1800 254 500. It's best to make an appointment first through Legal Help on 1300 792 387, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. For criminal charges, ask for its free Help Before Court service online or through Legal Help. Free advice from a lawyer depends on whether you're eligible
• Duty lawyers: Victoria Legal Aid's Bendigo office runs the duty lawyer service at the Bendigo, Castlemaine, Echuca, Kerang, Kyneton, Maryborough and Swan Hill courts. Not everyone is eligible, as it depends on your charges and circumstances, so ask court staff on the day
• Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service: 1800 064 865. VALS opened its first Bendigo office in February 2023, staffed from the start by a criminal law practice lead
• Djirra, for Aboriginal women and their children: 1800 354 772
• Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre (ARC Justice): 171 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo, (03) 5445 0909 or 1800 450 909. It also has a room at the Bendigo Law Courts. Free legal information and advice for people in central Victoria, and representation subject to a means test. Its work includes family violence, family law, fines and debt, and it may help with minor criminal matters, so call first
• Law Institute of Victoria: its Find Your Lawyer referral service can put you in touch with a firm offering a free 30 minute first consultation