Frequently asked questions

The Commission receives and investigates complaints about the conduct or capacity of judicial officers and VCAT members. 

• Conduct is the manner in which judicial officers and VCAT members behave or carry out their roles. By accepting appointment as judicial officer or VCAT member, they agree to uphold the judiciary’s status and reputation, and to avoid conduct that diminishes public confidence in, and respect for, the judicial office. 
• Capacity is the ability of a judicial officers and VCAT members to perform their official duties appropriately.  

The Commission makes guidelines relating to a range of matters including the standards of conduct expected of judicial officers and VCAT members and aspects of its own functions. The Commission has published the following guidelines:  

• Judicial Conduct Guideline on Judicial Bullying; 
• Judicial Conduct Guideline on Sexual Harassment; and  
• Guideline on Award of Costs. 

Any member of the public or the legal profession can make a complaint to the Commission. It can be about a matter you have experienced or become aware of.  

While the Commission cannot accept anonymous complaints, complaints can be made by organisations and agencies on behalf of their employees or by third parties who witnessed or are aware of the matter (but were not directly impacted).  

Similarly, complaints can be made by the Law Institute of Victoria and the Victorian Bar on behalf of their members without disclosing the identity of the affected person. 

The Attorney-General, heads of jurisdiction and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission can refer matters for investigation to the Commission. 

Your complaint must relate to one of the following Victorian judicial officers or VCAT members:  

• a Judge of the Supreme Court or the County Court;  
• a Magistrate of the Magistrates’ Court or the Children’s Court, including a Magistrate presiding in the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal;  
• a Coroner of the Coroners Court;  
• a VCAT member;  
• a Judicial Registrar of the Supreme Court, the County Court, the Magistrates’ Court, the Children’s Court or the Coroners Court.  

• See the Federal Court of Australia’s Judicial Complaints Procedure. 
• See the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia’s Complaints Policy. 
• See the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s Complaints Policy.

The Commission can only investigate complaints about the conduct or capacity of judicial officers and VCAT members. For example:  

• conduct (in and out of the courtroom) such as inappropriate remarks, tone or volume of voice and general demeanour; 
• judicial bullying (see Judicial Conduct Guideline on Judicial Bullying); 
• sexual harassment (see Judicial Conduct Guideline on Sexual Harassment); 
• discrimination; 
• health issues which may affect a judicial officer or VCAT member’s ability to perform their official functions; and  
• excessive delay in handing down a judgment.  

See past complaint case studies here.  

The Commission cannot investigate certain matters including complaints relating:  

• solely to the merits or lawfulness of a decision or procedural ruling made by a judicial officer or VCAT member;  
• to court or VCAT staff members including non-judicial registrars;  
• legal practitioners (see the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner) 
• to a person who is no longer a judicial officer or VCAT member (for example, because the person has resigned or retired);  
• to matters which occurred at too remote a time; and  
• to the conduct of judicial officers and members in federal courts or tribunals such as the Federal Court of Australia, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. 

The Commission’s investigation does not replace the appeal process. The Commission cannot overturn or make any finding about the outcome of your case, or any decision or procedural ruling made in your case. 

The Commission’s role is to investigate complaints about conduct or capacity.  

A court of appeal is the appropriate forum for determining whether a judicial officer or VCAT member has made an error in fact or law or if there was a miscarriage of justice. If you believe you have appeal grounds, you should seek independent legal advice. The Commission cannot provide legal advice or representation.   

Although the Commission must dismiss complaints that relate solely to the merits or lawfulness of a decision, conduct or capacity issues may arise from, or be consequential to, the decision-making process and therefore may be within the Commission’s power to investigate.  

You can make a complaint at any time.  

However, the Commission must adjourn the investigation of a complaint until the proceeding to which it relates has finished and the judgment or decision has been handed down unless the complaint relates solely to a delay in handing down a judgment or decision in the proceeding.  

The Commission may also, in rare circumstances, continue to investigate the complaint if the relevant head of jurisdiction agrees it is appropriate to do so, having regard to the seriousness and urgency of the matter.  

The adjournment of a complaint does not prevent the Commission from dismissing the complaint.   

A judicial officer will be told about the complaint and your identity at the relevant time of the investigation. However, the Commission must not use or disclose confidential complaint information to the public or others except in limited circumstances.  

Complaints can be made by organisations and agencies on behalf of their employees or by third parties who witnessed or are aware of the matter (but were not directly impacted). In other words, the identity of the individual who experienced the relevant behaviour does not have to be disclosed. For example, the CEO of an organisation can make a complaint and becomes the complaint even if it was an employee solicitor that was in court. The name of the solicitor does not have to be provided.  

Legal practitioners can contact the Victorian Bar or Law Institute of Victoria to discuss options for making an anonymous complaint. 

When the Commission considers whether it is in the public interest to release information about a complaint to the public, it must consider protecting the privacy and safety of individuals. The Commission’s Publication of Complaint Information Policy guides the Commission’s approach to publishing information about complaints and rarely includes publishing the identity of complainants.

The Commission has adopted a trauma-informed approach to dealing with affected persons in sensitive matters, including sexual harassment or other inappropriate behaviour such as judicial bullying. In these matters, an additional focus is placed on protecting the privacy and safety of the individual impacted by the conduct, as well as the judicial officer or VCAT member who is the subject of the complaint.  

During the investigation, pseudonyms may be applied, and there is an increased focus on regularly updating relevant parties on the investigation’s progress where appropriate

You may make an anonymous enquiry with the Commission. We do not need your full name during the course of your enquiry, nor do we need details about the judicial officer or VCAT member – all we need is a first name and a way to contact you.  

If you decide to make a complaint, we will require your full name. However, the Commission will not disclose your name to the public.  

Complaints can also be made by organisations and agencies on behalf of their employees or by third parties who witnessed or are aware of the matter (but were not directly impacted). In other words, the identity of the individual who experienced the relevant behaviour does not have to be disclosed. For example, the CEO of an organisation can make a complaint and becomes the complaint even if it was an employee solicitor that was in court. The name of the solicitor does not have to be provided.  

Legal practitioners can also contact the Law Institute of Victoria and the Victorian Bar who can make anonymous complaints on behalf of their members – i.e., without disclosing the identity of the affected person. 

See Question 8 to learn more about how the Commission protects privacy and safety.  

You can make a complaint to the Commission by completing the online complaint form.  

If you are a person with specific needs requiring an interpreter or other adjustment to lodge a complaint, please call 03 9084 9600 or email enquiries@judicialcommission.vic.gov.au. 

We note that our staff have completed First Nations cultural awareness training.

The Commission will:  

• write to you acknowledging receipt of the complaint; 
• triage the complaint and contact you if further information is required;  
• if appropriate, conduct a preliminary investigation of the complaint (which may involve an examination of transcripts, recordings, and other material relevant to the complaint); and 
• if necessary, seek a response to the complaint from the judicial officer or VCAT member. 

See the Complaint process diagram for more information. 

Following its preliminary investigation, the Commission can take one of the following actions:  

• dismiss the complaint (for example, those that are trivial, vexatious, relate to a person who is no longer an officer, or relate solely to the merits or lawfulness of a decision);  
• if it is a complaint about a very serious matter, which, if true, could warrant removal from office on the grounds of misbehaviour or incapacity, refer the complaint to an investigating panel for further investigation; or  
• if the Commission has not dismissed the complaint or referred it to an investigating panel, conclude that the conduct infringed the standards of conduct expected of judicial officers or VCAT members and refer the complaint to the relevant head of jurisdiction, with recommendations about future conduct.  

The Commission must give the judicial officer or VCAT member an opportunity to respond to a complaint before it makes any decision to refer the matter to the head of jurisdiction or an investigating panel. Once a response is received, if any, the Commission may dismiss the complaint or refer it.   

An investigating panel consists of three members appointed by the Commission.  Two members being former or current judicial officers or VCAT members and one member being a community member of high standing selected from the pool of people appointed for this purpose. 

Having investigated your complaint, the investigating panel must do one of the following: 

• dismiss the complaint; 
• refer the complaint to the relevant head of jurisdiction with recommendations about the future conduct of judicial officer or VCAT member concerned; or 
• draft a report recommending the judicial officer or VCAT member be removed from office if there is proven misbehaviour or incapacity. 

An investigating panel has a wide range of powers to assist it to investigate a complaint about a judicial officer or VCAT member, such as holding a hearing, issuing a witness summons, and applying for a search warrant. 

If the Commission refers your complaint to a head of jurisdiction, the Commission will also make recommendations about the future conduct of the judicial officer or VCAT member. The head of jurisdiction may then take any one or more of the following actions: 

• counsel the judicial officer or VCAT member; 
• make recommendations to the judicial officer or VCAT member as to future conduct; or 
• exercise any other powers that a head of jurisdiction has in relation to the judicial officer or VCAT member concerned.  

The head of jurisdiction must, in due course, provide the Commission with a report stating the outcome of the referral and the reasons for that outcome. You will be provided with a copy of that report. 

Mandatory dismissal grounds 

The Commission must dismiss a complaint, unless the Commission is satisfied:  

• the complaint could, if substantiated, amount to prove misbehaviour or incapacity, such as to warrant removal from office;  
• the complaint warrants further consideration on the ground that:  
  • it may affect or have affected the performance of the judicial officer or VCAT member’s functions; or 
  • the conduct of the judicial officer or VCAT member may have infringed the standards of conduct generally expected of judicial officers or VCAT members.  

The Commission must also dismiss a complaint if:  

• it is made by a vexatious complainant; 
• it is not about a judicial officer or VCAT member; 
• the conduct occurred before person became a judicial officer or VCAT member and is not conduct which would warrant removal from office; 
• it is solely about merits or lawfulness of decision;  
• it relates to the judicial officer or VCAT member’s private life and doesn’t affect performance of their functions or suitability to hold office;  
• it is frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith; or   
• the judicial officer or VCAT member has resigned or retired and is no longer in office.  

Discretionary dismissal grounds  

The Commission may dismiss a complaint if:  

• it is not substantiated;  
• it occurred at too remote a time; or  
• having regard to all the circumstances, investigation or further investigation of the complaint is unnecessary or unjustified.  

The Commission aims to finalise the majority of matters where there has been a preliminary investigation in six months and where there is a referral within nine months. That timeframe is consistent with comparable Australian complaints handling bodies. 

The Commission cannot dismiss a judicial officer or VCAT member from their position or remove them from hearing your matter.  

The Commission’s processes are not intended to disrupt the orderly administration of justice. The fact that a complaint has been made to the Commission about a judicial officer or VCAT member who is conducting a proceeding does not require them to disqualify themselves from the proceeding. 

If a matter could warrant removal of a judicial officer or VCAT member from their position, the Commission must refer the matter to an investigating panel.  

A special majority of both Houses of Parliament must agree before a judicial officer can be removed. The Governor in Council, on recommendation from the Attorney-General, may remove a VCAT member.  

The Commission may recommend an officer be stood down pending the outcome of an investigation 

Most complaints do not concern matters that could warrant removal of a judicial officer or VCAT member from their position. 

The Commission must dismiss a complaint if it is satisfied the person concerned has resigned or retired and is no longer a judicial officer or VCAT member.

The Commission is governed by a Board comprising six judicial members (each head of jurisdiction) and four non-judicial members of high standing in the community, appointed by the Governor in Council.  

The names of current Board members are published here.   

The Commission is led by the Director, who is appointed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Court Services Victoria (CSV) on the recommendation of the Board. The Director reports to the Board about the Commission’s operations and to the CEO of CSV for all other matters 

The Commission’s decision on a complaint is final, and there is no provision under the Judicial Commission of Victoria Act 2016 (Vic) for internal review or appeal of a decision.   

However, the Commission's decision has no bearing on your appeal rights in relation to the outcome of your court or tribunal matter. The appeals process exists externally to the Commission and varying time frames apply. If you wish to lodge an appeal of your decision, please seek legal advice or consult the relevant court or tribunal as soon as possible to ensure you are still eligible.