Bail Lawyers Sydney

If someone is in custody and that person is either:

• Charged with a criminal offence; or 

• Accused of committing an offence

The Police may either:

• Refuse bail (they remain in police custody until they go before the Court); or
• Release them, with a Court Attendance Notice which details the date and time they are to appear at Court; or
• Release them on bail.

If the Police have refused a person bail, they must go before the Court the same or the next day depending on the time.

The Court may either:

• Refuse bail (they will be transferred to jail); or
• Release them on bail.

If the Police, a Court or an officer allows them to be released from custody, they may be released with or without conditions. If you have been refused bail in the Local Court, you may wish to apply to the Supreme Court. See more about bail being refused here.

In New South Wales, bail conditions may require, but not be limited to, for example:

• Attend Court at a set date and time
• Report to police at regular, specified intervals
• Live at a specific address
• Have no contact with specific people (e.g. victims/alleged victims, others involved in alleged offence)
• Have no alcohol or drugs
• Not to drive a motor vehicle
• Electronic monitoring
• Not to go with a certain distance of a specific place or places
• Attending medical or mental health appointments or rehabilitation courses
• Following a curfew (e.g. not to be outside set address after 6pm)
• Surrender of passport
• Character Acknowledgement – someone of good character signs a form to verify the person in custody as a responsible person who will follow through with the bail conditions
• Surety –  a financial security for release until the hearing or trial. This may be a specific sum of money or other security, which serves as a guarantee that the person in custody will attend the hearing or trial. A person can also agree to forfeit money if there is a breach which means no monetary handover is required prior to release.

If the conditions are not followed, additional consequences or more severe penalties may be the outcome.

In NSW, there is police granted bail or Court-granted bail. Some offences are “show cause offences”. If a person has been charged with offences and the “show cause” requirements apply, evidence will need to be presented to the Court as to why detention is not justified. If this is the case, Police are likely to refuse bail and the matter will go before the Court. 

Police bail

An authorised officer will provide the person who is to be released on bail with the following documents:

• A Custody Management Record – a record of time spent in custody, length of custody, phone calls made and names of people who visited the station where they were held.
• Reasons for Bail Decision – a record of why police decided to release them on bail.
• Property Docket – a record of any items taken from them upon being taken into custody.
• Bail Acknowledgement – a record of bail conditions that includes consequences of not following bail conditions that is to be signed in agreement, before being released.

If someone accepts bail, they will be required to sign the Bail Acknowledgement before being released, indicating that they agree to follow the bail conditions.

Court bail

Court bail generally requires (or at least it is strongly recommended) that a person be legally represented. We make submissions on the law and how any unacceptable risk can be mitigated. We can also present information or evidence that a person may not have had before them when the Police were determining bail. If the “show cause” requirements apply to your offences, you need to provide good reasons/evidence as to why your detention is not justified. The responsibility is essentially on the accused as to why they should not be refused bail, which is why legal representation is so strongly recommended.

There are three ways you can effectively bail yourself out of jail:

1. If you sign the Bail Acknowledgement document provided to you and have the amount of money or security required as a bail condition, yes you can bail yourself out of jail; or
2. If you agree to forfeit funds in the event you do not fulfil bail conditions, then you are not required to pay anything upfront AND if there are no conditions for a third person to give a surety/character acknowledgement; or
3. If no surety condition is imposed.

There is no set amount for bail in New South Wales however we observe that the amount (or value of property put up as bail) can be relative to:

• The severity of the alleged crime/s
• The history of the person in custody – past offences and following of bail conditions
• The person’s financial circumstances

A financial amount (or property as security) is typically in conjunction with the other bail conditions, as detailed above. See types of bail conditions in NSW.

Bail money is released regardless of the outcome of the case if there is no dispute that all bail conditions set by the Court have been followed, and the person subject to bail conditions has attended all required Court hearings.

If you have agreed to forfeit funds and you breach your bail, the money may be forfeited and you or the person who agreed to forfeit the bail money will need to pay the amount agreed to be forfeited. If this is the case, you may not get the bail money back.

Generally bail conditions last until the time that the hearing or trial has concluded. 

If a person has been found guilty or entered a plea of guilty and is likely to receive a sentence of full-time imprisonment then the Court may revoke bail. Once a person is convicted and sentenced for the offence, bail ceases. New bail decisions and conditions may be made if you Appeal the Court’s decision.

If they are found not guilty of the offence alleged, bail conditions cease immediately upon that judgment by the Court.

• There has been a change in circumstances – this must be relevant to your case and bail application; or
• You were under 18 years of age at the time;
• You were not represented by a solicitor when you first requested bail

In New South Wales, a bail authority (police, Court, authorised bail officer) first assesses whether bail should be granted. This assessment is known as the ‘unacceptable risk test’.

They assess the following:

• Severity of the offence/s
• Likelihood of committing further offences
• Background including criminal history and criminal ties
• Previous history relating to ability to fulfil bail conditions
• Other Orders in place (e.g. AVO, Correction Orders etc)

If you believe bail has been refused and you wish to appeal it, seek advice from a criminal lawyer like those on our team. 

If the person who reported you is the victim, you will learn who reported you when Police advise of the allegations. Otherwise,police will not disclose who reported you to protect their safety. However, you may learn who reported you in the process of Court proceedings.

In New South Wales you can be arrested without being charged if the police suspect that you:

• Have committed a crime,
• Are committing a crime; or
• Anticipate you are about to commit a crime.

At a minimum, police can detain you for no longer than six hours from the time of your arrest. However, it is important to know that there are certain periods of time that may not be counted in those six hours, such as time spent in the bathroom or getting medical attention etc. They may also request an extension for additional time beyond this first six hours so it is important to seek advice from an experienced criminal lawyer as soon as possible.

It is possible for us to apply to vary your bail conditions for a certain period of time. Speak with a criminal lawyer as early as possible to determine if this is possible.

If your bail conditions include conduct requirements relating to, for example, residing at a specific address, or abiding by a curfew then interstate travel may not be possible if it means that travelling interstate would be in breach of your bail conditions.Upon release from custody in NSW you will be given a document that you will have had to sign before being released. Review this document (Bail Acknowledgement) before travelling and seek advice from a criminal lawyer.

If you have good reasons to travel interstate, we can assist you in applying to the Court to have your bail conditions temporarily suspended during the period of travel.

This is unlikely due to the risk of failing to appear for your Court hearing. We can apply to the Court for bail conditions to be suspended and for you to be allowed to travel. 

It might also depend on your connections/ties overseas. If granted, you may be required to put up a significant amount of security. 

Otherwise, anyone released on bail in New South Wales receives a Bail Acknowledgement document that details the conditions of their bail. Review this before travelling and if unsure, seek advice from a criminal lawyer.