Conditional release orders are created by way of s 9 Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act. If a court imposes a CRO, you are discharged by the court with no conviction recorded. Once the order expires, you will not have a criminal record (as a result of the CRO alone).
There are two standard conditions which, are imposed by a conditional release order (s 98):
In addition to the above standard conditions, a court may also impose any of the following:
Under s 95 the maximum term of a conditional release order, whether or not a conviction is recorded, is 2 years.
If an offender contravenes a non-association or place restriction order, this may result in a penalty of 10 penalty units ($1,100.00) or imprisonment for 6 months, or both (s 100E).
Under s 99 (3) there are certain conditions which a court cannot impose on a CRO, they are:
Sentencing is a complex area of law and to determine the appropriate sentence to impose on an offender, a court will take into consideration several factors. This will include:
Prior to 24 September 2018, under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, a court could impose a good behavior bond without proceeding to conviction, pursuant to s 10 (1)(b). Under this section the charge was dismissed, no conviction was recorded and the offender was put on a good behaviour bond. The bond could be imposed for up to 2 years.
A person sentenced under s 10(1)(b) had to abide by the following conditions:
If an offender breached any of these conditions the court could revoke the bond and impose a different sentence for the offence.
On 24 September 2018 the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Sentencing Options) Act 2017 commenced which changed the law regarding Section 10(1)(b) good behaviour bonds. This Act abolished certain sentencing options, including:
Schedule 1 Amendment of Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 [10] replaces the previous Section 10(1)(b). This directs a court to impose a conditional release order (CRO) under s 9 instead of a good behaviour bond.
A s10(1)(b) bond in force before 24 September 2018 is taken to be a CRO made under s 9 without proceeding to conviction. Orders in force before this date are subject to:
George Sten & Co Criminal Lawyers are highly experienced and can advise and represent you if you have been charged with an offence. For more information call George Sten & Co Criminal Lawyers. We are available 24 hours a day and can be contacted on (02) 9261 8640 or 0412 423 569.