Profile
The New Zealand Parole Board (the Board) is an independent statutory body established on 30 June 2002, under section 108 of the Parole Act 2002. The Board has 38 Members, made up of 21 Judges who act as Panel Convenors, this includes the Chairman, and 17 non-judicial Members.
Appointments are made by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Attorney-General.
Hearings before the Board are considered by panels with a minimum of three Members and hearings are conducted at each prison at least once a month.
In accordance with the Parole Act 2002, the Board considers cases where offenders are eligible for consideration for release on parole, home detention, compassionate release, and release at their statutory release date. It does not consider the release of offenders on short-term prison sentences of two years or less, unless they have the court’s leave to apply for front-end home detention. The date offenders are eligible to be considered by the Board for parole depends on their sentence and this is determined in accordance with section 88 of the Parole Act 2002.