Parole Amendment Bill 2017 in Northern Territory
Tuesday 23 May 2017 @ 10.46 a.m. | Crime
On 11 May 2017, the NT Legislative Assembly introduced the Parole Amendment Bill 2017 (21 of 2017) (The Bill). The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Parole Act to authorise the Chairperson of the NT Parole Board to, without revoking a parole order, impose a period of the person’s sentence of imprisonment as a sanction for non compliance with a parole condition.
Background to the Bill
According to the Second Reading Speech:
"Incarceration rates in the Northern Territory are the highest in Australia. The most recent report on government services published in the Northern Territory’s recorded rates of 921.7 prisoners per 100,000 in the adult population. This was more than four-and-a-half times the national rate of 201…
Given that the majority of people in prison for a criminal act return to the general community it is imperative that we look at new measures, new initiatives, to ensure that people are supported when they re-integrate into our communities."
Also according to the second reading speech, the Bill is a reaction to the need for the Government to look at options that will assist people who have been released from prison on parole to live responsibly and abide by the law.
Amendments in the Bill
Under the current parole scheme, during the application process it is made clear to prisoners eligible for parole that non-compliance with conditions is likely to result in the return to prison as there are currently limited options to address non-compliance.
The amendments contained in the Bill authorise the Chairperson of the Northern Territory Parole Board to, without revoking a Parole Order, impose a period of the person’s sentence of imprisonment as a sanction for noncompliance with a parole condition.
The Bill creates a new, certain and fair system for dealing with non-compliance of parole orders with this ability for the chairperson to apply swift, certain and proportionate sanctions, without revoking the parole order, reinforcing the gravity and seriousness of each incident of noncompliance with a parole order and demonstrating to other offenders that the chairperson will take swift, consistent and proportionate action for non-compliance with orders, without revoking the order. According to the second reading speech, it is anticipated that, over time, the policy will result in a decrease in the number of episodes of noncompliance considered by the Parole Board, a decrease in the number of parole orders revoked and will consequently improve completion rates and importantly encourage prisoners to apply for parole.
Part 2 of the Bill amends the Parole Act (NT). Clauses 4 and 5 set out the definitions relevant to the sanctions regime. Clause 6 contains the bulk of the amendments. It inserts a new section 4(c), and new sections 5 to 5(g). These provisions establish the sanctions regime, and replace the various subsections of current section 5 to comply with current drafting practice.
The Bill is currently awaiting Second Reading debate in the Legislative Assembly.
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Sources:
Parole Amendment Bill 2017 (21 of 2017) [NT] and secondary materials as reproduced on TimeBase LawOne
