Bail Act 1978 No 161
Current version for 19 March 2013 to date (accessed 21 May 2013 at 02:07)
Part 2Division 3

Division 3 Presumption in favour of bail for certain offences

9   Presumption in favour of bail for certain offences

(1)  This section applies to all offences, except:
(a)  offences referred to in section 8A (1) or 8B (1),
(b)  subject to subsection (1A), offences referred to in section 8 (1) or offences against section 51,
(c)  offences under section 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 61J, 61JA, 61K, 66A, 66B, 78H, 86, 90A, 95, 96, 97 or 98 of the Crimes Act 1900, and
(d)  the following offences under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (but only if the plant or drug concerned is alleged to be of a quantity which is at least twice the indictable quantity applicable under that Act):
(i)  an offence under section 23 (1), 24 (1) or 25 (1) of that Act,
(ii)  an offence under section 26 of that Act of conspiring to commit an offence referred to in subparagraph (i),
(iii)  an offence under section 27 of that Act of aiding, abetting, counselling, procuring, soliciting or inciting the commission of an offence referred to in subparagraph (i),
(iv)  an offence under section 28 of that Act of conspiring to commit, or of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of, an offence under the provisions of a law in force outside New South Wales which corresponds to section 23 (1), 24 (1) or 25 (1) of that Act,
(d1)  the following offences under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985:
(i)  an offence under section 25A of that Act (Offence of supplying prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis),
(ii)  an offence under section 26 of that Act of conspiring to commit an offence referred to in subparagraph (i),
(iii)  an offence under section 27 of that Act of aiding, abetting, counselling, procuring, soliciting or inciting the commission of an offence referred to in subparagraph (i),
(iv)  an offence under section 28 of that Act of conspiring to commit, or of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of, an offence under the provisions of a law in force outside New South Wales that corresponds to section 25A of that Act,
(e)  offences under section 302.3, 302.4, 303.5, 303.6, 304.2, 304.3, 305.4, 305.5, 306.2, 306.3, 306.4, 307.2, 307.3, 307.6, 307.9, 307.11, 307.12, 307.13, 309.2, 309.3, 309.4, 309.7, 309.8, 309.10, 309.11, 309.12, 309.13, 309.14 or 309.15 of the Criminal Code of the Commonwealth, or an offence under Division 11 of Part 2.4 of the Criminal Code of the Commonwealth where that offence relates to any of the specified sections, but only if the goods or substances concerned are alleged to be of a nature and quantity required for an offence referred to in paragraph (d),
(e1)  an offence under section 26 (Association between members of declared organisations subject to interim control order or control order) of the Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2012,
(f)  murder or manslaughter, and
(g)  an offence excluded from this section by section 9A, 9B or 9D.
(1AA)  This section does not apply in respect of a grant of bail to an accused person to whom section 8C or 8E applies.
(1A)  This section applies to:
(a)  an offence referred to in section 8 (1) if the person accused of the offence is not entitled to be granted bail under section 8 merely because the person has previously failed to comply with a bail undertaking given or bail condition imposed in respect of the offence, and
(b)  an offence against section 51 arising from a failure to comply with a bail undertaking given in respect of an offence referred to in section 8 (1) (a).
(2)  A person accused of an offence to which this section applies is entitled to be granted bail in accordance with this Act unless:
(a)  the authorised officer or court is satisfied that the officer or the court is, pursuant to a consideration of the matters referred to in section 32, justified in refusing bail,
(b)  the person stands convicted of the offence or the person’s conviction for the offence is stayed, or
(c)  the requirement for bail is dispensed with, as referred to in section 10.
(3)  Subject to subsection (4) and section 9B (1) (e), a person is entitled under this section to be granted bail in respect of an offence to which this section applies, notwithstanding that the person is in custody also for some other offence or reason, in respect of which the person is not entitled to be granted bail.
(4)  A person is not entitled under this section to be granted bail in respect of an offence to which this section applies, if:
(a)  the person is in custody serving a sentence of imprisonment in connection with some other offence, and
(b)  the authorised officer or court is satisfied that the person is likely to remain in custody in connection with that other offence for a longer period than that for which bail in connection with the firstmentioned offence would be granted.
(5)  (Repealed)

9A   Exception from presumption in favour of bail—certain domestic violence offences and offences of contravening apprehended domestic violence orders

(1)  This section applies to the following:
(a)  any domestic violence offence,
(b)  any offence of contravening an apprehended domestic violence order by an act:
(i)  involving violence, or
(ii)  that would constitute an offence against section 13 of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 or section 545AB or 562AB of the Crimes Act 1900.
(1A)  Section 9 does not apply if a grant of bail is sought for an accused person in respect of an offence to which this section applies alleged to have been committed (or to involve an act) against another person if the authorised officer or court is satisfied that the accused person:
(a)  has a history of violence, or
(b)  has been violent to the other person in the past (whether or not the accused person has been convicted of an offence in respect of the violence), or
(c)  has failed to comply with a bail condition in respect of the offence to which this section applies that was imposed for the protection and welfare of the other person (unless the authorised officer or court is satisfied that the accused person will comply with any such bail condition in the future).
(2)  For the purposes of this section, an accused person has a history of violence if the accused person has been found guilty, within the last 10 years, of a personal violence offence committed against any person or of an offence of contravening an apprehended violence order by any act involving violence.
(3)  In this section:

apprehended domestic violence order has the same meaning as in the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007.

apprehended violence order means an order under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007, and includes a similar order under the law of another State or Territory or of another country.

personal violence offence has the same meaning as in the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007, and includes a similar offence under the law of another State or Territory or of another country.

9B   Additional exceptions to presumption in favour of bail

(1)  Section 9 does not apply in respect of the grant of bail to a person accused of an offence if, at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed, the person, in connection with any other offence:
(a)  was at liberty on bail, or
(b)  was on parole, or
(c)  was serving a sentence but was not in custody, or
(d)  was subject to a good behaviour bond or an intervention program order, or
(e)  was in custody.
(2)  Section 9 does not apply in respect of the grant of bail to a person if the person has been previously convicted of an offence against section 51.
(3)  Section 9 does not apply in respect of the grant of bail to a person accused of an indictable offence if the person has been previously convicted of one or more indictable offences (whether dealt with on indictment or summarily).
(4)  In this section:

intervention program order has the same meaning as in the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.

Top of page