Bail after conviction must now be refused for offences where the accused will receive full time imprisonment, unless special or exceptional circumstances exist.
The Bail Amendment Act 2022 (NSW) commenced on 27 June. It adds a new s 22B to the Bail Act 2013.
The new section provides that on an application for bail after conviction of an accused person, before they are sentenced for an offence for which they will receive full-time custody, the court must refuse bail unless the accused can establish special or exceptional circumstances exist to justify the decision to grant or dispense with bail.
The same applies to a detention application brought by the prosecution in the Supreme Court under Section 40 of the Bail Act.
However, if the offence of which the accused person has been convicted is a show cause offence, the requirement for the accused person to establish special or exceptional circumstances to justify a decision to grant bail or dispense with bail applies instead of the requirement that the accused person show cause why their detention is not justified.
The Bail section of the By Lawyers Criminal – Local Court NSW commentary has been updated accordingly.