Judge Hannan said she was "honoured" by the appointment. "I am grateful for the confidence shown in me by the Attorney-General and the government," she said. "I look forward to joining the hard-working magistrates and staff of a modern, innovative court dedicated to serving the Victorian community. I acknowledge the many achievements of [retiring] Chief Magistrate Peter Lauritsen and wish His Honour the best for the future. "I thank Chief Judge Peter Kidd and all the judges and staff of the County Court. It has been a privilege to work with them over the past 13 years." Judge Hannan's promotion won’t come as a surprise to many in the legal profession who had tipped her as a favourite to replace retiring Judge Lauritsen. Some of her high-profile cases involve stopping right-wing supremacist Blair Cottrell from taking his appeal against hate speech to the Supreme Court earlier this year, and reducing on appeal the jail term of Sean Price – the man who murdered schoolgirl Masa Vukotic in 2015 – when she found his mental-health problems contributed to his offending.

But in reducing Price’s jail term for criminal damage from three years to 10 months, she did so on the understanding he was to be sent back to the Corella Place sex offenders facility in Ararat on the completion of his sentence. Instead, the Parole Board of Victoria placed him back in the community. Had the original jail term stood, or had Price been staying at Corella Place where he should have been, he would not have crossed paths with Ms Vukotic. This is a return to the Magistrates Court for Judge Hannan who served for eight years as a magistrate and coroner, before moving to the County Court as a judge 13 years ago. Loading She was the inaugural head of the Criminal Division of the County Court from 2014 to 2018 and previously worked as a barrister in criminal and family violence matters.

While magistrate, Judge Hannan streamlined the court's processes for handling sexual offences by implementing the specialist sexual offences list. "Judge Hannan is a highly experienced, respected and capable judge who will perform the role of Chief Magistrate with distinction," Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said. "Judge Hannan’s appointment marks a significant milestone in Victoria’s history, with equal representation of women as magistrates in the Magistrates Court of Victoria." Judge Hannan has been appointed at a time when the Magistrates Court is under enormous pressure with an increasing caseload, reform to bail laws, and focus on magistrates' mental health. County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd thanked Judge Hannan for the "tremendous" contribution she made over the past 13 years.

"The court congratulates Judge Hannan and wishes her well in this exciting and important role," he said. Outgoing Chief Magistrate Judge Lauritsen, who will work as a reserve judge in the County Court, also congratulated Judge Hannan, describing her as "a respected judicial officer [who] will bring vision, passion and integrity to her new role". "I had the privilege of working with Judge Hannan when she was a magistrate, and she has since distinguished herself as a coroner and a County Court judge," he said. "I am honoured to have been Victoria’s Chief Magistrate for the past seven years." Judge Hannan will take over the reins at the Magistrates Court on November 17.