Cases set to be heard before the County Court in Ballarat are not experiencing unusual or additional delays despite significant disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic, according to court data.

Chief Judge Peter Kidd said the pandemic had led the courts to embrace technology and adopt new practices to increase efficiency.

There is currently an approximate six to 12 month period for a case to proceed to trial in Ballarat, similar to before the pandemic hit in March 2020.

There were 50 cases on the books of the court in Ballarat in 2019 and that number remains approximately the same today.

There are 370 trials waiting across regional Victoria, about a 25 per cent increase on pre-pandemic times, with different trial lists at every regional circuit.

Melbourne courts are facing massive challenges compared to regional Victoria with wait times for trials blowing out to 18 to 21 months, up from 12 to 14 months before the pandemic hit.

The County Court suspended jury trials from mid-March 2020 due to the pandemic and there were no trials in Ballarat for 17 months, but many other case hearings were conducted online during court closure periods.

Staff were trained to conduct hearings online.

"The non-jury trial work is so up to date there is effectively no wait time," Chief Judge Kidd said.

"If you plead guilty today we are likely to be able to hear that matter within a short period of time."

Chief Judge Kidd said County Court teams were working hard to reduce the backlog of cases and were 'on track to addressing it efficiently', with measures like testing in place to make sure the courts were 'COVID-safe'.

He said the County Court had increased staff and resources for the Ballarat court and the number of weeks the County Court circuit would run in Ballarat.

There is capacity to run two trials at the same time in Ballarat with two separate courtrooms renovated to accommodate a jury with seats socially distanced.

Case conferences continued remotely via video technology throughout the past two years when trials did not run, with judges aiming to ensure they were more intensive and formalised to address issues in the case.

Chief Judge Kidd said case conferences promoted efficiency and ensured cases that could resolve to an agreement reached that point at an earlier stage.

"Often there is a cohort of cases that resolve in the weeks leading up to the trial date, sometimes the day of the trial," he said.

"Case management is about ensuring those cases which are likely to resolve do so well in advance of any trial date so they are cleared from the list.

"We have been able to settle a number of those cases. Sixty per cent of cases that had a case conference have resolved. That has assisted us in dealing with the backlog."

Chief Judge Kidd said there would always be some delays in cases due to resources including the number of court rooms and judges, but ideally justice should be delivered as quickly as possible for the benefit of all involved.

"People's lives are put on hold when they are involved in a case particularly if they are an accused person or complainant. It is stressful for them and their family members," Chief Judge Kidd said.

"People accused of a serious crime are potentially facing drastic consequences including imprisonment and complainants seek resolution and justice.

"That is one of the reasons why offenders receive a reduction in their sentence when they plead guilty... They are saving the community time and cost... and bringing the case to an end faster."

Chief Judge Kidd said another reason to minimise case delay was because witnesses often gave historical accounts of events by memory and a whole trial could depend on that evidence and those recollections.

He said staff would continue to work to address case backlogs around the state.

"Yes we are challenged, we have all been challenged by COVID. There is probably no system which was as unsuitable to the COVID environment as the jury trial system," Chief Judge Kidd said.

"We have worked around the challenges and are doing everything we can to address the backlog and we are making progress.

"It is not something that can be completely turned around overnight. That is the reality of the situation. There is no magic wand here.

"We have to pull on a number of different levers and that is what we are doing. Over time we hope to be able to address the delays that have been caused and the consequences of the delays."

The Courier spoke to Chief Judge Kidd when he visited Ballarat last week.

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