Quick answer
Someone you love has been arrested in NSW and you don't know where they are or what happens next. This video gives families the sequence: the first three phone calls, what's happening in custody, how the bail decision works (court usually the same or next day), the facts families provide that win bail, and the three warnings that protect them - starting with recorded phone calls.
What this video covers
- Introduction (0:00)
- Breathe — there's a sequence (0:04)
- What's happening to them now (0:24)
- The first three calls (0:49)
- The bail moment (1:17)
- Three warnings that protect them (1:45)
- The court safety net (2:12)
- Control the next 24 hours (2:35)
- Free help, any hour - 1800 577 015 (2:57)
Transcript
The phone rings or worse, it goes silent, and you learn that someone you love has been arrested in New South Wales. Your son, your partner, your brother. You do not know where they are, what they are charged with, or what happens next. Breathe. There is a sequence here, and you can work it from your kitchen table starting now. First, what is happening to them right now? After arrest, they are taken to a police station into custody where they can be held while police investigate and decide on charges. Then comes the fork. Police can release them with a court date, grant bail from the station, or refuse bail.
If bail is refused, they must be brought before the local court as soon as possible, usually the same day or the next. Now your first three calls. One, the police station in the area where they were arrested because they may still be in the cells there, and police will make efforts to tell relatives where a person in custody is. Two, if they are aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, the Aboriginal Legal Service, whose number is on screen, they track people in custody and can check on welfare. Three, a criminal lawyer, tonight if you can, because the first court date can be tomorrow morning.
Understand the bail moment because it is where family helps most. When the court considers bail, practical things matter. A stable address they can live at and whether that is yours. Someone responsible who will support them, perhaps you. Any work or study waiting for them. Get those facts to the lawyer or to the duty lawyer at court before the hearing, not after. Turning up to court matters too. Courts notice a family in the room. Three warnings that protect them. Every call from custody is recorded, so never discuss what happened, what they should say, or the case at all on those calls.
Talk about family, health, and love, nothing else. Second, tell the station about any medication or health conditions. It genuinely matters in the cells. Third, stay off social media about the arrest completely. Posts become exhibits. At court, know the safety net. There is a duty solicitor at every local court, free, for people in custody especially, and they handle bail applications every single day. If bail is refused at first, it is not necessarily the end. Further applications and reviews exist, and a prepared one beats a rushed one. That is exactly the kind of fight lawyers are for.
You cannot control what happened last night. You can control the next twenty four hours, the calls, the facts for bail, the silence on recorded lines, the lawyer standing next to them. If you want to talk it through right now, our hotline is free to call at any hour, and a consultation with a criminal lawyer is a fixed price, booked fast. The number is on your screen.
Important
This video provides general legal information for New South Wales. It is not legal advice and does not take account of your circumstances. Laws and court processes change. For advice about your situation, speak with a qualified lawyer.