DLSS BAIL APPLICATION GUIDE 2026

Bail Application Guide 2026

BAIL APPLICATION About Bail Application Bail Application was a new competition introduced by the DLSS in 2022 and which had great success in its first year. It is a criminal law based competition that involves your team acting for a client who is applying for bail. You aim is to convince the court that your client should receive bail. The main focus of the competition is compliance with the formalities established in the Bail Act. Utilising facts of the case, you must persuade the court to grant bail to your client.

One of the highlights of this competition is that there is no Prosecution, meaning that it is just you and the Judge with no added pressure of directly competing against another team!

Benefits of Competing The Bail Application Competition applies material learnt in MLL218 Criminal Procedure, with the structure being similar to that of the oral submissions assignment. This competition can therefore assist in completing that unit or improve already obtained skills.

Improve your oral advocacy, legal research, written communication, and problem solving skills. These are all crucial skills required for not only law school, but your future as a lawyer.

Gain experience competing in a criminal law competition, particularly valuable for those wanting a career in criminal law. This will look great on the resume!

A lower workload then that of the mooting competitions, meaning you are able to balance the competition work with your regular uni and other commitments.

You have the opportunity to become an Annalise Keating in the courtroom!

BAIL APPLICATION Who is Involved?

Role Party

Applicant Counsel (Includes Snr/Jnr Counsel)

Present submissions contending that an application for bail should be granted

Judges

To moderate the proceedings To interrupt with probing questions relating to the submissions To make a judgement on the case

DLSS Representative

Organisational and time-keeping duties

Key Dates Dates

Round / Days

Trimester 1 Week 3

Signups Open

Trimester 1 Week 4

Fact Scenarios Released

Trimester 1 Week 5 (Week starting 8th April)

Heats Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Trimester 1 Week 6 (Week starting 15th April)

Semi-Finals Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Trimester 1 Week 7

Grand Final Evening of Wednesday 24th April

BAIL APPLICATION Structure of Competition

Section 1: Judge Introduction The Judge will briefly address the parties and prepare to hear the oral submissions. You may be asked to introduce yourself, you can use this suggested phrase: “May it please the court, my name is [FULL NAME] and this is my Junior Counsel [FULL NAME] and we appear on behalf of the [CLIENT]” You may or may not be prompted to give appearances. Judges' are instructed to ask for appearances. On the off chance they do not, the DLSS representative will inform you to give appearances.

Section 2: Submissions You will have 10 minutes to present your arguments to the court.

This amount of time includes speaking time for both speakers allocated at your discretion, as well as questions from the Bench.

If you run out of time, you can ask the judge for an allotment of extra time, which they may grant at their discretion. A maximum of three minutes can be requested.

Workload: Moderate

BAIL APPLICATION How to Prepare 1. Prepare Written Submissions Each team must prepare a written bail submission as well as their submission being presented orally to the court. The aim of this is to give the Judge a brief idea about what arguments your team will make. Short and succinct is best! We will provide you with a template for the submissions.

2. Familiarise yourself with the Bail Act To be successful in this competition, you must convince the court of your client’s eligibility for bail. The way to do this is by taking into consideration the crimes committed and the tests outlined in the Bail Act. To strengthen your argument, you should discuss reasons why the prosecution would oppose bail and refute these reasons. Know your sections of the Bail Act! 3. Do your Research There are many different resources available to assist you in preparing for this competition, including (but certainly not limited to): MLL218 Criminal Procedure Notes and Learning Resources Websites like the Judicial College of Victoria Youtube videos of bail applications: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRF_DdKrzdo Attend bail applications through the Victorian Court system (either in person or online).

BAIL APPLICATION How to Prepare - Continued 4. Practice, Practice, Practice Delivery is a key component in this competition, so ensure that you allow plenty of time to practice your submissions. Practice with not only your teammate, but also just anyone who will listen to you! Be confident but still remember that nerves are completely normal and natural.

5. Don’t Forget to have Fun! Competing in this competition will have outstanding benefits for you, not only career wise but confidence wise! It’s only a friendly competition in which everyone is a student just like you are, so just enjoy it and get as much out of it as you can. *Please note that completion of MLL218 is not required to compete in this competition.

Starting Tip: Section 3D of the Bail Act 1977 (Vic) provides a flow chart that may be easy to understand how to formulate your argument!

BAIL APPLICATION What am I marked on?

Manner and Expression (10 points) Development of Argument (20 points) Questions from the Bench (10 points) Written Submissions (10 points) Total: 50 points

Any more questions?

You can find Frequently Asked Questions such as: What do I wear? How do I verbally cite cases?

In the General Competition Handbook available at deakinslss.org Any other questions to director-competitions@deakinlss.org

Stay Up to Date YOU CAN STAY UP TO DATE WITH OUR COMPETITIONS ON OUR SOCIALS (FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND DLSS WEBSITE) ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE LATEST NEWS RIGHT HERE: INTERNAL DLSS COMPETITIONS: HTTPS://FORMS.GLE/UHIE6SJ8XNARQWWQA EXTERNAL COMPETITIONS: HTTPS://FORMS.GLE/EF8FVEGFBUTMJMDG8

Thank You! WE WISH YOU LUCK ON YOUR COMPETITION ENDEAVOURS SHOULD YOU WISH TO COMPETE IN 2026.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO OUR TEAM IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CONCERNS OR QUERIES AT DIRECTOR-COMPETITIONS@DEAKINLSS.ORG