10. Bail and Family Violence

Recommendation 10–1 State and territory legislation should not contain presumptions against bail on the grounds only that an alleged crime occurred in a family violence context.

Recommendation 10–2 State and territory legislation should provide that, on granting bail, judicial officers should be required to consider whether to impose protective bail conditions, issue or vary a family violence protection order, or do both.

Recommendation 10–3 State and territory legislation should impose an obligation on police and prosecutors to inform victims of family violence promptly of:

  1. decisions to grant or refuse bail; and
  2. the conditions of release, where bail is granted.

Victims should also be given or sent a copy of the bail conditions. Where there are bail conditions and a protection order, police and prosecutors should explain how they interact.

Police codes of practice or operating procedures, prosecutorial guidelines or policies, and education and training programs should reflect these obligations. These should also note when it would be appropriate to send bail conditions to family violence legal and service providers with whom a victim is known to have regular contact.