Home detention is an alternative to imprisonment for some offenders, and operates in two ways.
Offenders sentenced to up to two years in prison may be given leave by the Judge to apply to the Board to serve their sentence at an approved address.
If given a deferred sentence, an offender must, as part of their bail conditions, apply to the Board within two weeks of being granted bail.
Offenders serving a sentence of more than two years in prison may apply to serve the remainder of their sentence on home detention when they are within five months of their parole eligibility date.
If home detention is granted, they will not be released on home detention until they are within three months of their parole eligibility date. This is called back-end home detention.
Offenders serving sentences on home detention are fitted with an electronic anklet which is monitored to ensure they do not leave their approved address without prior approval.
As with all of its deliberations, the Board’s primary role in considering home detention applications is the safety of the community.
The law in this report is stated as the law as at 30 June 2005. References to legislation in this report are not a substitute for the statutes themselves.