Good Behaviour Bonds in New South Wales
Good Behaviour Bonds in New South Wales
A good behaviour bond is a sentencing order that requires an offender to abide by conditions, including to be of ‘good behaviour’ for a specified period. It is a penalty that is generally imposed for low-level offending or for a person’s first offence. In New South Wales, good behaviour bonds for adults no longer exist. However, good behaviour bonds still exist as a sentencing option for young offenders under the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987.
Good behaviour bonds for young people
A young person can be sentenced to a good behaviour bond for a period of up to two years. This means that for the period of the order, the young person must not commit a further offence and must attend court if called upon to do so. If the young person commits a further offence while on a good behaviour bond, the court may resentence them for the original offending.
A good behaviour bond may be imposed with additional conditions attached. This may include a condition that the young person perform community service work or pay a fine or compensation.
Abolition of good behaviour bonds for adults
In 2018, the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 was amended and a number of community-based sentencing options for adults were abolished. Suspended sentences, good behaviour bonds and home detention orders were all abolished at this time. The government replaced these sentencing options with new community-based sentencing options that involved a higher level of supervision and could be tailored to the individual situation.
The government said that the changes were necessary because a high number of offenders were being sentenced to community-based orders that did not involve supervision. These orders were felt to be ineffective in addressing the causes of offending behaviour.
Under the amendments, good behaviour bonds were replaced by community release orders.
Conditional release orders
When a person is sentenced to a conditional release order, they must agree not to commit a further offence for the period of the order. They must agree to appear before the court if called upon to do so. Other conditions may also be imposed as part of a conditional release order such as a condition that the offence take part in specified programs or abstain from alcohol and drugs.
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Michelle Makela
National Practice Manager
Michelle Makela is a Legal Practice Director at Go To Court Lawyers. She holds a Juris Doctor, a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) and a Master of Criminology. She was admitted to practice in 2006. Michelle has over 15 years experience in the legal industry, working across commercial litigation, criminal law, family law and estate planning.
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