Applicant an Aboriginal woman who allegedly murdered her domestic partner
Quick Take
1A combination of factors — including absence of criminal history, strong employment record, available housing and counselling, cultural supports, and Aboriginality under s 3A of the Bail Act 1977 (Vic) — can together constitute exceptional circumstances justifying bail on a murder charge, even where no single factor is independently exceptional.
2Where the prosecution effectively concedes the absence of unacceptable risk under s 4E of the Bail Act 1977 (Vic), this operates as an additional and important factor favouring the grant of bail at the exceptional circumstances stage.
3The s 3A considerations — including dislocation from family, culture, community and country, worsening health in custody, and the overrepresentation of Aboriginal persons in custody — carry real weight in the bail analysis and are not merely formulaic.
