Community Corrections Orders (NSW)
Community corrections orders (CCOs) are non-custodial sentences that require an offender to live in the community under supervision and subject to conditions. This page deals with community corrections orders in New South Wales.
Legislation
Under section 8 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, a court may sentence a person to a community corrections order instead of imposing a sentence of imprisonment. A CCO may be made for a period of up to three years.
A CCO is made on condition that the offender will not commit a further offence and will attend court when required to do so. It may also carry additional conditions including:
- to abide by a curfew
- to take part in a rehabilitation program
- to carry out community service
- not to consume alcohol or drugs
- not to associate with certain persons
- not to attend certain places
- to submit to supervision by Community Corrections (or by a juvenile justice officer if the offender is under 18)
A CCO must not contain a condition that the offender be subject to a home detention condition, an electronic monitoring condition or a curfew that applies for more than 12 hours in a 24-hour period. A community service work condition will only be imposed if the person has been assessed as suitable to do community service work by Community Corrections.
Assessment report
When a court is considering making a community corrections order, it may order an assessment report to be prepared by Community Corrections. If a court is considering making a CCO with a community service condition, it must order an assessment report.
The report will outline the suitability of various conditions in the offender’s circumstances. A CCO will only be made if the court is satisfied that the offender is suitable to be placed on a CCO and has agreed to abide by its conditions.
Community service conditions
A community corrections order may carry a condition that the offender perform a set number of hours of community service However, this condition will only be imposed if:
- the court considers the person suitable for community work
- it is appropriate in the circumstances that they be required to carry out community work
- there are opportunities available in their geographic area for community service work to be arranged
It may not be possible or appropriate for a person to be ordered to perform community service work if they have unresolved mental health issues, drug or alcohol issues, injuries or physical disability that prevent them from performing certain types of work, or work commitments that mean they could not adhere to the requirements of the available programs.
The maximum number of community service hours that can be imposed for a single offence are:
- 100 hours, for an offence that has a maximum penalty of up to six months imprisonment
- 200 hours, for an offence with a maximum penalty of between six and 12 months imprisonment
- 500 hours, for an offence with a maximum penalty of more than 12 months imprisonment
A person may be required to perform community service under more than one order at the same time. The maximum number of community service hours that a person can be required to perform in total are as follows:
- 750 hours, where one of the orders is an intensive corrections order
- 500 hours, where all the orders are community corrections orders.
Varying a CCO
A person may apply to the court to vary the conditions of a community corrections order, or to revoke the order. This application can be made by the offender, by a community correction officer or by a juvenile justice officer. The court may consider the application or refuse to do so.
Breaching a CCO
If a person does not comply with all the conditions of their CCO, Community Corrections may inform the court of this. The offender may then be summonsed to attend court to explain their failure to comply with the order. If the court finds that the person has breached the order, it may revoke the order and impose another sentence for the original offending.
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