Bail Laws in NSW (1 Viewer)

[Lachyy]

I heard that bail laws have been reformed to remove the "presumption" rule. Have these happened yet or are they still undergoing reviews? If you had any media articles that would be great as well thanks.

 

[ncoul]

Yes, that's correct. The 'Bail Amendment (Enforcement Conditions) Act 2012 (NSW)' introduced in December 2012, changed the previously complex laws to remove offence based presumptions in favour of a risk management approach, discerning the accused's risk to the community. However, prohibitions on an individual's second and subsequent applications remained, labelled by the NSW Council of Civil Liberties as a "source of real injustice". It's important to consider that bail is to solely ensure that an individual turns up to trial and should not be a form of pre-trial punishment - NSW has twice the amount of prisoners on remand than any other state.

 

[Kipling]

Yes, that's correct. The 'Bail Amendment (Enforcement Conditions) Act 2012 (NSW)' introduced in December 2012, changed the previously complex laws to remove offence based presumptions in favour of a risk management approach, discerning the accused's risk to the community. However, prohibitions on an individual's second and subsequent applications remained, labelled by the NSW Council of Civil Liberties as a "source of real injustice". It's important to consider that bail is to solely ensure that an individual turns up to trial and should not be a form of pre-trial punishment - NSW has twice the amount of prisoners on remand than any other state.

So what is the Bail Bill 2013 changing then?