Attended hearing – a Board hearing where the offender, and other people, may be present.
Board – the New Zealand Parole Board.
Conditions – the rules which an offender must obey on release from prison.
Convenor - the Judge who chairs the panel of Board members that is considering (or hearing) a case.
Determinate sentence - means a sentence of imprisonment for a fixed term.
Extended Board – a panel of the Board that has 5 members or more.
Extended Supervision Order - a court imposed order on some offenders convicted of certain child sexual offences, who have a high risk of re-offending.
Final Release Date (FRD) - the date at which an offender sentenced before 30 June 2002 must be released unless the Department of Corrections has applied to keep them in prison longer.
Hearing – where 3 or more members of the Board meet to discuss (hear) an offender’s case. Can be attended or unattended.
Indeterminate sentence - means a sentence of imprisonment that is imprisonment for life or preventive detention.
Life imprisonment – a sentence of imprisonment that exists for the life of an offender. The offender may be paroled once they are eligible, but is subject to being recalled to prison for life.
Long-term sentence – a sentence of 24 months or more for offenders sentenced after 30 June 2002. A sentence of 12 months or more for offenders sentenced under the Criminal Justice Act 1985.
Member - a person who sits on a panel and takes part in making the decisions about a case.
Oral submission – when a person verbally gives information to the Board about an offender at a hearing.
Panel - a group of at least 3 Board members who considers (or hears) a case.
Panel Convenor – the person, usually a Judge or former Judge, who chairs a panel.
Parole - is when an offender is released from prison to serve the remainder of his or her sentence in the community on conditions supervised by a Probation Officer.
Parole eligibility date (PED) – the date at which an offender becomes eligible to be considered for parole.
Postponement order - when an offender's next hearing for release on parole is scheduled up to 2-3 years (rather than 1 year) after the most recent hearing.
Pre-Commencement date or pre-CD sentences - means a sentence of imprisonment that was imposed before the Parole Act 2002 came into effect on 30 June 2002. This is known as the commencement date.
Recall - an application made to the Board to return an offender to prison at any time before their statutory release date.
Registered victim - an eligible victim who has registered their details with the NZ Police to be notified of certain events about the offender, including when the offender's hearing is due to take place.
Residential Restrictions – a special condition of parole that the Board may impose on an offender’s release that is effectively a curfew requiring them to stay at a specified residence (home) at all times or at times specified by the Board. Electronic monitoring, usually involving an ankle bracelet, is normally used to monitor compliance.
Review – an offender may ask for a decision of the Board about them to be reviewed on certain procedural grounds.
Sentence Expiry Date/ Sentence End Date (SED) – the date at which an offender’s sentence ends. After this date the offender can no longer be recalled to prison, although they may be subject to release conditions that last up to 6 months after their sentence end date.
Short-term sentence – a sentence of less than 24 months for offenders sentenced after 30 June 2002. A sentence of less than 12 months for offenders sentenced under the Criminal Justice Act 1985.
Special Release Conditions – conditions specific to an offender set by the Board with which the offender must comply when they are released from prison.
Standard Release Conditions – conditions set in law (the Parole Act 2002) with which all offenders must comply when they are released from prison.
Statutory Release Date (SRD) - the latest date at which an offender must, by law, be released from prison.
Submission - information given to the Board, either in writing or verbally.
Unattended hearing – a Board hearing where no-one else is present except the members of the Board considering the case and administrative staff required to record the details of the case.
Victim – a person who has been a victim of an offence as defined in the Victims’ Rights Act 2002.
Waiver - an offender can give up their right to appear at their hearing by signing a 'waiver' form. The case will be considered in their absence.
Written submission – written information that is given to the Board about an offender’s case.