Step 6: What can I do if I’m not happy with the hearing officer’s decision?

If you are unhappy with the hearing officer’s decision, there are steps you can take.

Write to the General Manager 

You can write to the General Manager to reconsider their decision. You can ask them to reconsider: 

• The decision about whether you were guilty of the prison offence; or 

• The decision about what penalty you got. 

In your letter you should clearly explain what was wrong with the decision and your reasons for wanting them to reconsider.  

Complain to the Victorian Ombudsman 

If you are not happy with the response from the General Manager, you can complain to the Victorian Ombudsman.  

Important: you can only complain to the Ombudsman after you have tried to resolve the issue with the General Manager.  

For more information on how to make a complaint to the prison or Victorian ombudsman, see the Making a complaint section on the home page. It has information about:

• Preparing for a complaint
• Making an internal complaint (to someone at your prison)
• Making a complaint to Corrections Victoria
• Making complaints to external complaint bodies

Judicial review 

If the hearing officer’s decision was unlawful, you may be able to apply to the Supreme Court for a judicial review.  

In a judicial review, the Court does not look at the hearing officer’s decision to see if they would have done things differently. What they look at is whether the decision was lawful. If they decide the decision was unlawful, they can cancel the hearing officer’s decision or order the hearing officer to re-consider their decision.  

It’s a good idea to get legal advice before applying for judicial review. If you lose your case, you can be made to pay the cost of Corrections Victoria’s legal fees. You will also very likely need a lawyer to help you apply for judicial review, especially if you do not have access to a computer. 

You should try to speak to a lawyer as soon as possible because an application should be made within 60 days of the hearing officer’s decision about a penalty.  

For more information on getting help from a lawyer, click here.

For more information on judicial review and what decisions are unlawful, click here.