02 9159 9010
Table of Contents
- What Is a Good Behaviour Bond in NSW and What Happens If You Breach It?
- What replaced good behaviour bonds in NSW
- What a conditional release order actually involves
- How a community correction order is different
- What happens if you breach a conditional release order
- Where do you stand on your order?
- Young people still get good behaviour bonds
- Commonwealth offences are a separate system
- Frequently asked questions
- Talk to us about your matter
What Is a Good Behaviour Bond in NSW and What Happens If You Breach It?
Adults in New South Wales cannot be given a good behaviour bond any more. Bonds were abolished on 24 September 2018 and replaced with conditional release orders and community correction orders. If a police officer, a duty lawyer or a family member told you that you are "on a bond", what you almost certainly have is a conditional release order, usually shortened to CRO.
The breach consequences are the part people ring us about. If you break a condition of a CRO, the court has three options: do nothing, change the conditions, or revoke the order and sentence you again for the original offence. That last one is the option that hurts, because the court starts fresh with every penalty back on the table, including gaol.
What replaced good behaviour bonds in NSW
Before September 2018, a NSW court could impose a bond under section 9 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 if it recorded a conviction, or under section 10(1)(b) if it did not. The Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Sentencing Options) Act 2017 scrapped both, along with suspended sentences, home detention and community service orders.
Three orders took their place:
- Conditional release order (CRO) under section 9, the lowest rung of the community orders and the closest thing to the old bond
- Community correction order (CCO) under section 8, the middle option, available only after a conviction is recorded
- Intensive correction order (ICO) under section 7, a sentence of imprisonment served in the community
Old bonds did not simply vanish on the changeover. Under Schedule 2, Part 29, clause 75 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, a section 10(1)(b) bond still running on 24 September 2018 was treated as a CRO made without conviction, expiring on the date the original court had set. Since the maximum bond term was five years, every one of those orders has now run its course.
What a conditional release order actually involves
A CRO releases you into the community on conditions for a fixed period instead of fining or gaoling you. Two features matter most.
The first is length. The maximum term is two years under section 95(2). Twelve or eighteen months is common for a first offence.
The second is whether a conviction is recorded. A CRO can be made with a conviction under section 9(1)(a), or without one under section 10(1)(b). No conviction means no criminal record for that offence, which is why a section 10 dismissal or a CRO without conviction is worth fighting for.
Conditions of a CRO
Every CRO carries two standard conditions under section 98:
- You must not commit any offence
- You must appear before the court if called on to do so at any time during the term
On top of those, section 99 lets the court add conditions: taking part in a rehabilitation program or treatment, abstaining from alcohol or drugs, not associating with named people, staying away from a particular place or area, and supervision by Community Corrections.
There are hard limits. A CRO cannot include home detention, electronic monitoring, a curfew or community service work (section 99(3)). You also cannot be fined and given a CRO for the same offence (section 9(3)). And the Local Court cannot impose a CRO while you are absent, so turning up to court matters. For a domestic violence offence, a CRO must include a supervision condition.
How a community correction order is different
A CCO is the next step up and can only follow a recorded conviction. It runs for up to three years under section 85(2) and carries the same two standard conditions under section 88.
The difference is what can be bolted on. Section 89 allows a curfew of up to 12 hours in any 24 hour period, and community service work of up to 500 hours. The community service cap tracks the seriousness of the offence: 100 hours where the maximum penalty is six months imprisonment or less, 200 hours where the maximum sits between six and twelve months, and 500 hours where the maximum is more than twelve months. Community service cannot be ordered at all unless an assessment report says you are suitable for it.
What happens if you breach a conditional release order
Breaches usually happen one of two ways. You pick up a new charge during the term, which breaches the standard condition not to commit any offence. Or you stop reporting to your Community Corrections officer, which breaches a supervision condition.
If Community Corrections believes you have breached, the officer files a written breach report with the court. The court then lists the matter for hearing no earlier than 14 days and no later than three months after the report is filed, under clause 329 of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Regulation 2014. A copy of the report has to reach you at least five days before that hearing.
Section 108C of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 lets the court call you up to explain yourself. If you do not appear, the court can issue a warrant for your arrest. If it cannot work out where you are in the first place, it can issue the warrant immediately.
Once you are before the court and it is satisfied you breached, section 108C(5) gives it three choices:
- Take no action. This happens more often than people expect, particularly for a technical breach with a sensible explanation behind it.
- Vary or revoke the additional conditions, or impose further conditions. The two standard conditions cannot be touched.
- Revoke the order.
Revocation is the outcome to worry about. Section 108D allows the court to sentence or re-sentence you for the original offence as though it were sentencing you for the first time. Every option is live again: a fine, a CCO, an ICO, or full time imprisonment. If your CRO was made without a conviction, re-sentencing can mean a conviction goes on your record this time around.
One trap catches a lot of people. The court can deal with a breach after the order has expired, provided the conduct happened during the term (section 108C(6A)). Reaching the end date does not wipe the slate clean if a breach report is already on foot.
Breach of a CCO works the same way under section 107C, with the same three options open to the court.
Where do you stand on your order?
Young people still get good behaviour bonds
The Children’s Court kept the old language. Under section 33 of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 it can still impose a good behaviour bond for up to two years, either as a discharge under section 33(1)(a)(ii) or as a penalty in its own right under section 33(1)(b). The bond must require the young person to be of good behaviour and to appear if called on, and cannot require community service work or any payment.
Breach is dealt with under section 41. The court can take no action, vary or revoke conditions, extend the period (but not beyond two years from the date of the original order), or revoke the order and deal with the young person as it could have at the start.
Commonwealth offences are a separate system
If you are charged with a federal offence, Centrelink matters and importation charges being the usual examples, bonds are alive and well. Section 19B of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) allows a court to discharge you without conviction on a recognizance to be of good behaviour for up to three years. Section 20(1)(a) allows release without any sentence being passed, on a good behaviour recognizance for up to five years.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a good behaviour bond last in NSW?
A conditional release order runs for a maximum of two years, a community correction order for a maximum of three, and a Children’s Court good behaviour bond for a maximum of two. The court sets the actual term, and shorter terms are common for a first offence.
Does a conditional release order give you a criminal record?
It depends on whether a conviction is recorded. A CRO under section 9(1)(a) follows a conviction, so the offence goes on your record. A CRO made without conviction under section 10(1)(b) produces no conviction, although the court has still found the offence proven and that finding can matter for some purposes.
Will I automatically go to gaol if I breach?
No. The court has to decide what to do with the breach, and taking no action or adjusting the conditions are both realistic outcomes. Whether the breach was deliberate, how far into the order it happened, and what you have done since all count.
Can the court deal with a breach after the order has ended?
Yes, if the conduct occurred during the term of the order. Section 108C(6A) preserves the court’s power to act after expiry.
Talk to us about your matter
Blackridge Law appears in Local Courts across Sydney every week, for both breach proceedings and applications for a conditional release order instead of a conviction. If you have been served with a breach report or you are being sentenced soon, call us on 02 9159 9010 and we will tell you where you stand.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Get advice about your own circumstances before making any decisions.