Welcome to the Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment (MERIT) website.

MERIT is a special program based in Local Courts that provides the opportunity for adult defendants with drug problems to work, on a voluntary basis, towards rehabilitation as part of the bail process.

Participants can be identified by the Magistrate, solicitor, police or the defendants themselves as suitable for assessment for the MERIT program. MERIT Teams, based in NSW Health conduct the assessment of participants . Based on the assessment, the defendant may be accepted into MERIT to receive targeted drug treatment. The MERIT treatment program will be developed to match the defendant's individual needs. The Court will make the defendant's involvement in MERIT a condition of bail.

Defendants are closely case-managed by the MERIT Team throughout the program and the Magistrate receives regular reports on the participant. The final hearing and sentence generally coincide with the completion of the MERIT program. Magistrates are then able to consider the defendant's progress in treatment as part of final sentencing.

For more information on the MERIT program, you can download the MERIT Factsheet PDF here. (112 kb)

Similar and/or complementary drug/crime diversion initiatives include:

• Rural Alcohol Diversion (RAD) Pilot Program, commenced at Orange Local Court on 17 December 2004 and provides rehabilitation to adult defendants with primary alcohol abuse or dependence problems.
• (Adult) Drug Court at Parramatta which targets more serious offenders facing a custodial sentence. The MERIT program is distinguished from Drug Court as the defendant is not required to enter a plea of guilty in order to participate in the program.
• Youth Drug and Alcohol Court (YDAC) which aims to reduce re-offending by young people who have become entrenched in the criminal justice system by helping them overcome their drug or alcohol problem.
• Wellington Options - accepts juveniles and people with primary alcohol problems.