Parole Program

If a Court sentences an offender to prison, it may set a non parole period. The Court must fix a non parole period if an offender has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment or more, unless they have been convicted of murder or the court thinks it is inappropriate. The non parole period must not be less than 50% of the sentence to be served, and cannot be less than 8 months. For certain sex offences, the non parole period set cannot be less than 70% of the head sentence.

The Parole Board considers every prisoner who has a non parole period set by the court to decide whether or not they should be released to parole.

The offender may be released to parole after the non parole period has been served, and will be supervised by a Parole Officer in respect of his/her residence, employment, associates, reporting, reoffending, etc. Conditions relating to treatment for substance abuse, undertaking counselling, abstaining from the consumption of alcohol or illicit substances, breath or urine analysis may also apply. The Parole Board may set any conditions they see fit.

Revocation of a Parole Order by the Court or Parole Board results in the parolee being returned to prison for the unserved portion of his/her sentence (ie. no credit for "clean street time"). The Board may order extradition of a parolee to return to the Northern Territory to face cancellation of parole proceedings.

Parole Orders are the only orders which can currently be formally registered in another jurisdiction. National protocols require that where a parolee is going to reside interstate permanently, a request for formal registration must be made to the receiving jurisdiction within three months of his departure. Registration in the receiving jurisdiction under the Parole Orders (Transfer) Act means the parole order ceases to exist in the sending jurisdiction. Any breach of the order and subsequent imprisonment is carried out in the receiving jurisdiction.