The Supreme Court of Victoria granted bail to an applicant charged with aggravated burglary and numerous other offences, finding exceptional circumstances were established under s 4AA of the Bail Act 1977 (Vic). The Court held that the applicant's exceptionally onerous custodial conditions as a transgender woman in a men's prison — including isolation, sexual assault, transphobic harassment, inadequate medical treatment and a suicide attempt — combined with the availability of a suitable residential rehabilitation program tailored to her needs, the prospect of summary resolution and a DATO, and the risk that time on remand would exceed any sentence imposed, collectively took the case out of the norm. The Court further held that the risk of further offending and endangering safety was not unacceptable and could be ameliorated by strict bail conditions, noting the applicant had not reoffended since her last grant of bail.
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