Charges and EAGP
The ODPP prosecutes a charge through the Local Court according to the Early Appropriate Guilty Plea (‘EAGP’) process.
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The EAGP process 

The Early Appropriate Guilty Pleas reforms were introduced in 2018. As a result of these reforms changes were made to the committal process.  In the Local Court, the steps in the prosecution process are: 

  • brief service
  • charge certification
  • case conference
  • committal.  

Brief service

Following the accused being charged by police, a Magistrate will make an order for the Police to serve a brief of evidence on both the defence and the ODPP. The brief contains all the evidence required to prove the charge. The length of time for this process will vary according to the complexity of the case. 

Charge certification

Once the brief has been served, a Magistrate will make an order for the ODPP to certify a charge. This step requires the ODPP to evaluate the evidence contained in the brief and certify the charges (confirm that the charges are supported by the evidence). During this stage, and based on the evidence provided, the ODPP may decide to proceed on the original charges, add additional charges, add alternative charges, or withdraw charges. At the end of this stage the ODPP will present a charge certificate to the Local Court that outlines the charges that the ODPP has chosen to prosecute. 

Case conference

Once the charge certificate has been presented to the Local Court, a Magistrate will order that the ODPP and defence participate in a Case Conference. This involves the ODPP and defence meeting on a set date to make plea representations with the goal of both parties agreeing on an appropriate plea. During this meeting, the parties may also discuss the case and the evidence, to narrow any issues in the case. There are two possibilities that will arise out of the conclusion of the case conference process. 

  • An appropriate guilty plea is agreed. The accused will confirm their plea of guilt and the matter will proceed to sentence at the next step. 
  • An appropriate guilty plea is not agreed. The matter will proceed to trial at the next step. 

Committal 

At committal, the ODPP will advise the Local Court whether an appropriate guilty plea was able to be agreed upon. 

If an appropriate guilty plea is agreed. The ODPP will provide the Local Court with the agreed facts that represent the plea. The Magistrate will then commit (transfer) the matter to the District Court for sentence. In some circumstances, the sentence will be held in the Local Court.
 
If an appropriate guilty plea is not agreed, the Local Court will commit (transfer) the matter for trial to the District Court or the Supreme Court. This moves the matter towards the appropriate Court that will conduct the trial.