Bail

Bail definition:

Bail is the granting of temporary liberty to a person charged with a criminal offence. It may be granted by the police or by a court. In New South Wales, if the authorised Police Officer (being at least a Sergeant or the Officer in charge of the Police Station at the time) refuses bail on a detained person, then he/she has a right to be brought before the court on the next available date to have a bail decision made by the court. Police are quite often reluctant to grant Police bail for the more serious criminal offences or where you have an unfavourable criminal record.

The bail application:

The interests of the defendant must not be ignored when considering bail; bearing in mind the presumption of innocence and the impact that denying bail can have on the accused and any dependants (loss of income and employment, limited access to family and friends, effect on children). In determining whether or not to grant bail, the Court will look at the following factors which are contained within the Bail Act 1978:

1. The probability of whether or not the person will appear in court in respect of the offence for which bail is being considered

2. The interests of the person; and

3. The protection and welfare of the community.

Bail conditions:

If the Court grants bail, it can do so either conditionally or unconditionally. However, one mandatory condition is that the accused needs to appear at Court on the necessary dates. If there are any conditions placed upon the bail given to a person then the court must state the reasons why such conditions were imposed.

Conditions include, but are not limited to: reporting to a Police Station on certain days(i.e. daily, weekly etc), the requirement not to communicate with specified persons (i.e. alleged victim or witnesses), the requirement to attend rehabilitation or seek treatment, the requirement to reside at a nominated address, a curfew, the requirement not to go within a certain distance of specified locations or to surrender a passport (to reduce flight risk).

In granting bail a court may also require that someone acts as a surety (guarantor) to agree to lodge money or agree to forfeit a certain amount of money if the accused fails to attend court. The surety ordinarily posts a sum of money as security, or alternatively evidence that he/she can provide a sum of money if required (e.g. title deeds to a property).

Number of bail applications allowed:

Up until 2007, you could apply for bail in the Local Court as many times as you wanted. Following the insertion of section 22A into the Bail Act 1978 any further bail applications must be supported by a change in facts or circumstances of the accused (unless they were not addressed in the initial bail application).The only exception to this is if the accused was unrepresented on his/her initial bail application.

It is for this reason that it is imperative to meticulously prepare for the initial Local Court bail application, as there can be up to a 6 week delay for bail applications to be heard in the Supreme Court.

Our principal solicitor, Ms. Rochelle Trimmer has successfully made bail applications on countless occasions. If you or a family member requires legal representation for a bail application, please contact us during business hours on (02) 9249 7375 or at any other time on 0416 145 242.