About parole in NSW

When a person is sentenced to prison for an offence, the Court sets a non-parole period which is the minimum time they must serve in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

In NSW, eligible inmates can be released on parole either via a statutory order (court-imposed) or by order of the NSW State Parole Authority.

The Parole Authority decides parole only for inmates serving prison sentences longer than 3 years and 1 day. 

Offenders serving prison sentences less than 3 years are automatically released on parole, at the end of their non-parole period.

Offenders only become eligible for parole once they have served the non-parole period of their sentence (the time they must serve in prison).

in NSW, offenders do not apply for parole the first time as the law says the PArole authority must consider whether they should be released on parole, once they become eligible.

The Authority's role is to decide whether it is in the interests of community safety to grant parole allowing an offender to continue serving the rest of their sentence in the community, with conditions and while under the supervision of Community Corrections officers.

In every matter, the Authority considers the protection of the community, the rights of the victim, the intentions of the sentencing court and the needs of the offender.

Timeline of parole process

The legislation states the Authority must start the process of considering an eligible offender for parole at least 60 days before the date they can be released.

Any final decision must be delivered 21 days before the eligible date. 

Deciding parole for an offender is a highly complex process which can take several months and involves the careful assessment and consideration of an abundance of material including risk assessments, criminal history, Judge’s sentencing remarks, reports by psychologists or psychiatrists, advice and a pre-release report by Community Corrections and, for serious offenders, a report and recommendations of the Serious Offenders Review Council.

The Authority also considers submissions of Registered Victims and interested parties and submissions made on behalf of the State and the Commissioner CSNSW.

Victims of crime, or their family, can make wwritten or verbal submissions which are considered during the decision-making process. Written submissions can remain confidential if requested.

NSW is the only jurisdiction in Australia to hold public hearings in court, allowing victims of serious offenders to make a verbal submission directly to the Authority if they choose.

The Authority always records reasons to support every determination it makes.

Parole is an effective mechanism in our legal system.

Research and evidence consistently shows supervised parole works in reducing reoffending.

A 2022 study by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research concluded inmates released to supervised parole are less likely to commit further crime than those released unconditionally.

Significantly, lower rates of re-offending were still seen two years after release from prison.