The Bugmy Bar Book Project: Understanding Its Impact on Sentencing
In sentencing, context matters. The Bugmy Bar Book Project is an important tool that helps Victorian courts to understand how disadvantages, trauma, and social exclusion can impact a person’s path to offending. Developed by the Public Defenders and Legal Aid NSW and recognised in jurisdictions across Australia, it provides a library of peer-reviewed research for use in sentencing submissions.
This blog explores in simple detail how the Bugmy Bar Book Project informs sentencing decisions in Victoria by helping courts and lawyers consider the effects of trauma and disadvantages.
What is the Bugmy Bar Book Project?
The Project takes its name from the High Court decision in Bugmy v The Queen [2013] 249 CLR 571, which affirmed that the effects of profound childhood disadvantage do not diminish over time and must be given ongoing weight during sentencing. The Bugmy Bar Book compiles scientific and sociological research to assist legal practitioners in presenting evidence-based submissions about a person’s background.
Using the Bugmy Bar Book in Sentencing
The Bugmy Bar Book contains research summaries in areas including:
- Childhood abuse and neglect
- Out-of-home care
- Substance abuse and mental illness
- Intergenerational trauma and systemic racism
- Neurodivergence and cognitive disability
The materials help to contextualise a person’s offending behaviour, and support submissions about reduced moral culpability, rehabilitation potential, and non-custodial options (where appropriate).
Legal Recognition and Case References
Courts have acknowledged the value of the Bugmy Bar Book as a source of authoritative reference material.
The Judicial College of Victoria encourages use of the Bugmy Bar Book alongside expert evidence when relevant. For example, in Marrah v The Queen [2014] VSCA 119, the Court of Appeal considered the offender’s background of significant deprivation in mitigation of sentence. The principles in Bugmy continue to guide Victorian courts when determining the weight to give to background trauma.
Why It Matters
Without context, there is the potential for sentencing to overlook the causes of offending. The Bugmy Bar Book helps to ensure that justice is grounded in a fuller picture of the person, not just the conduct. It particularly assists in ensuring culturally sensitive sentencing, especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Bugmy Bar Book also helps legal practitioners to advocate effectively for fairer, trauma-informed outcomes that better reflect rehabilitation and the risk of reoffending.
How Emma Turnbull Lawyers Use the Bugmy Bar Book
At Emma Turnbull Lawyers, we regularly draw on the Bugmy Bar Book to support sentencing submissions. We combine this with comprehensive background material, expert psychological reports, and direct lived experience evidence to
advocate for outcomes that recognise the whole story.
Our work reflects our belief that the justice system must be capable of compassion, insight, and tailored responses to individual clients.
If you or a loved one is facing sentencing, and their background includes trauma, abuse, or systemic hardship, contact Emma Turnbull Lawyers. We are experts in telling the full story.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Always consult a qualified lawyer for legal guidance.
