Victorian magistrates recently underwent professional training sessions on how to structure sentences for migrant offenders that circumvent automatic deportation under federal migration laws.

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The training, included scenarios illustrating how sentencing decisions could influence deportation outcomes for non-citizen criminals, including those convicted of serious crimes.

One example discussed during the training involved a hypothetical Vietnamese student newly arrived in Australia, charged with multiple counts of sexual assault against a young child.

This is beyond outrageous. Why would Australia want pedophiles & drug dealing migrants staying in the country? https://t.co/9xjqMRs2Zk

— Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) October 28, 2024

In this scenario, magistrates were advised to consider a sentence of just under 12 months — specifically, 11 months and 15 days — which would avoid meeting the threshold for automatic deportation. Federal laws mandate that non-citizens in Australia for less than ten years face deportation if sentenced to a year or more in prison.

Concerns have been expressed about a trend of leniency in sentencing, especially in light of recent federal data showing a marked drop in visa cancellations for child sex offences over the past five years, from 104 to 27.

Today’s Herald Sun, Oct 28.
Only in Melbourne Australia folks.
Judges trained to go soft on violent migrant crims, such as PEDOPHILES & drug dealers, to stop deportation.

Hope the plan is to move them next door to the judges house after convicted.

Why would we want them here? pic.twitter.com/cGVJft7rfL

— Queen Bee 17 (@HoneyBeeBuzz17) October 28, 2024

A spokesperson for the Magistrates' Court declined to address specific queries on the training details but confirmed the professional development session held on 24 October.