Have you breached your parole, home detention or intensive correction order?

This brochure outlines what happens if you have breached your parole, home detention or intensive correction order.

If you breach your order, a report will be sent to the Parole Authority by your supervising officer.

The Parole Authority may then:

Take no action or
send a warning letter or
direct you to attend and explain or
revoke the order, and issue a warrant.

If the order is revoked, it means the order is cancelled and you must return to gaol.

Warrant for revocation

If the Authority revokes the order it will issue a warrant for your arrest and you will be returned to gaol. Bail is not possible on arrest for revocation and you will not be taken before a court (unless at the same time you are charged with a fresh offence.)

Once you are returned to custody, the Authority is advised and it then fixes a date when it will review the revocation. This is a hearing at which you can appear and be represented. The hearing is usually four to six weeks after you have been returned to custody.

Legal aid is available for this hearing through hr Prisoners Legal Service (Legal Aid NSW). Contact the PLS as soon as you receive the notice of the hearing date on the gaol CADL phone system by calling Legal Aid on 11# and ask for the PLS.

Review hearing and release

The purpose of the hearing is to review the revocation of your parole, home detention or intensive correction order.

If the Authority decides that the order was not breached and should not have been revoked, it will rescind the revocation. This means that the order is restored and will be released from custody.

If the order was breached, the Authority can do the following:

Revocations of parole

If there are mitigating circumstances for the breach of parole, the Authority can rescind the parole. This reinstates the parole order and you are released back on parole. If the revocation is confirmed, you will have to serve 12 months before you are eligible again for release to parole - if the balance remaining is less than 12 months, you will serve it in custody. However, in some cases the Parole Authority can consider a further parole application within the 12 month period under the manifest injustice provisions.

Reinstatement of home detention

You can apply for reinstatement of home detention order after 3 months has been served. Whether or not this is granted will depend on an assessment from Community Corrections that you are suitable.

Reinstatement if intensive correction orders

You can apply for reinstatement of the intensive correction order after 1 month has been served. Whether or not that is granted will depend on an assessment from Community Corrections that you are suitable; and, you must state what you have done, or are doing, to ensure that you will not fail to comply with the obligations under the order if it is reinstated.

Balance of sentence

When you are returned to custody on the revocation warrant you will be informed of the balance of your sentence. Please note that 'street time' stops running from the date of the breach. For example, if you are arrested six months after the breach, that six months does not count towards your sentence.

Even though your sentence has finished, it can still be revoked if the breach occurred during the sentence. For example, it is not unusual for a plea of not guilty to be entered to a charge which occurs during the sentence but, the hearing is not completed until after the sentence has expired. If found guilty, your parole or home detention or intensive correction order can still be revoked as from the date of the offence.

Avoiding revocation of your order

Keep in contact with your supervising officer. If you miss an appointment, have a positive urinalysis or are charged with an offence or you think you have breached the order in some other way, contact your supervising officer and discuss it This may result in a warning letter rather than revocation and a warrant for your arrest

Where are the hearings held?

The hearings are held in Court 1A of the Western Trial Courts, Parramatta Justice Precinct, 160 Marsden Street (cnr George St) Parramatta. Prisoners appear by audiovisual link (AVL).

For more information contact PLS on 8688 3888 or on the gaol CADL phone system - a free call - just press 11# (Legal Aid) and ask for the PLS.

Need an interpreter?

If you have difficulties communicating in English, phone the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450 and ask them to call LawAccess NSW.

Hearing/speech impaired?

If you are hearing/speech impaired, you can communicate with us by calling the National Relay Service (NRS) on 133 677.

This information is intended as a general guide to the law. It should not be relied on as legal advice and it is recommended that you talk to a lawyer about your particular situation.

At the time of updating, the information shown is correct but may be subject to change. If you need more help, contact LawAccess on 1300 888 529.

A print copy of this brochure may be ordered online.