Have you breached your parole?

If the State Parole Authority revokes the order it will issue a warrant for your arrest and you will be returned to gaol. This is called a revocation warrant. 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 new offence.)

Once you are returned to custody, if you were subject to a parole order or ICO, the State Parole Authority will set a date for a review hearing. They ask you to complete some forms. You must say if:

• you would like to attend your hearing (by AVL),
• you intend to make submissions, and
• if you would like to be represented by a lawyer at your review hearing. 

It is important that you complete and return these forms as soon as possible. The hearing is usually four to six weeks after you have been returned to custody.

Legal aid is available for your hearing through Prisoners Legal Service (PLS) at Legal Aid NSW. You do not need to complete an application for legal aid. If you nominate PLS on the paperwork received from the State Parole Authority, they will send PLS your court papers automatically and then PLS will arrange a conference with you.  

The purpose of the hearing is to review your breach and the revocation of your parole or intensive correction order.

If the State Parole Authority decides that the order was not breached and should not have been revoked, it will rescind the revocation.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 you will be released from custody.

If the State Parole Authority finds that you did breach your order, they can do a number of things depending on the type of order and the findings at the review:

• Revocation of parole orders

If there were mitigating circumstances for the breach of parole, the State Parole Authority can rescind the revocation of the parole order. This means you are returned to the community on your parole order and the order is treated as if it had never been revoked. 

If the revocation is confirmed, you will have to serve 12 months before you are eligible again for release on parole. If the balance remaining is less than 12 months, you will serve it in custody. However, in some cases the State Parole Authority can consider a further parole application within the 12 month period under the manifest injustice provisions.

• Reinstatement of intensive correction orders

If there are mitigating circumstances for the breach of the ICO, the State Parole Authority can rescind the revocation of the order. This means you are returned to the community on your ICO and the order is treated as if it had never been revoked. 

If the State Parole Authority confirms the revocation of the ICO, you can apply to reinstate the order after one month has been served in full time custody. When you ask to reinstate your order, you must say 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. If there is a work condition on your order the State Parole Authority will not be able to reinstate the order until it has obtained a report from Community Corrections confirming your eligibility for work and that work is still available to you. 

You will find out the balance of your sentence when you are returned to custody on the revocation warrant. It is important to know that ‘street time’ does not count towards the time you have served on your sentence. For example, if you are arrested six months after a breach, that six months is referred to as street time and does not count towards your sentence. This is something that can be discussed at a review hearing. The State Parole Authority will sometimes vary the order revocation date which will give you more credit for the time you were in the community.

An order can be revoked even if it has finished.  For example, if you are charged with an offence that occurred during a parole period that has already expired, and the State Parole Authority is notified of this, they can still choose to revoke your parole 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.  If you have concerns about re-connecting with a supervisor you can contact Prisoners Legal Service for advice or assistance.  

Review 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).

Where can I find more information?

Prisoners Legal Service

Prisoners Legal Service (PLS) is a service of Legal Aid NSW and has lawyers who regularly visit prisons or see prisoners by video link across NSW. PLS can give you general advice about your case, appeals and other legal problems.

Contact Prisoners Legal Service on 02 9066 6046 during business hours.

Prisoners can contact the Prisoner Legal Service by:

● submitting a request at the prison to have your name added to the Legal Aid NSW waitlist, or

● contacting Legal Aid NSW as a free call by pressing #2 on the prison Common Auto Dial List (CADL) phone system and ask for Prisoners Legal Service.