What is Bail?

It is fairly common for a person who is charged with a criminal offence to be granted bail, which means you are released from jail into the community until a court case proceeds. The type of offence you are charged with will determine whether you are entitled to bail from the police station, or an application can be made at court.

If bail is not granted at a police station, they are required to bring you before a magistrate within a reasonable time. If a Magistrates Court is not available or practical, a senior police officer can order you to be held in custody before being presented to the court.

What are bail conditions?

If you are granted bail, you must sign an undertaking of bail form which confirms that you will be in attendance to court on the dates you are addressed to go to answer the charges, and that you agree to comply with any conditions of bail.

The Bail Act 1977 contains a list of common bail conditions, although the police, bail justice or court can impose conditions that do not appear in the Bail Act. Bail can be granted with special conditions or no conditions at all. The Magistrate court has the discretion to impose any number of special conditions on your bail that is appropriate such as, but not limited to:

• Living at a certain address;
• Surrendering a passport;
• Not contacting certain people;
• Reporting to a local police station.

Breaching Bail conditions

If there was no requirement to provide a deposit or a bail guarantee, you are bailed on your own undertaking. A bail guarantee is a person one or more, that pay money to the court if you fail to comply with your bail undertaking.

This is satisfied by the bail guarantor providing proof they can pay the amount fixed by the court, they can also provide proof of assets such as real property. If you aren’t complying with the bail undertaking, the bail guarantor may lose their money or have their assets sold to recover the amount promised.

Arrest for breach of bail

In Victoria, a breach of bail is a criminal offence that may result in a sentence as well as the revocation as bail. A police officer or a protective services officer can arrest any person who is on bail if they believe that they are likely to break a bail condition, or if they are breaking or broke any bail condition. A warrant is not required in this circumstance however, the court can issue a warrant for the arrest of a person released on bail if they’ve failed to appear in court, or if additional conditions need to be imposed.

Failure to attend court

If a person on bail fails to attend court dates as required, without a reasonable cause or refuses to surrender themselves into custody, they are guilty of an offence, this carries a penalty of 12 months imprisonment.

If a person fails to attend court while on bail, the court can extend the bail imposed. This can be done if they are satisfied the person did not appear due to illness, accident or some other cause. They may also be sentenced for this offence if they’ve breached bail, the court may revoke or vary their bail, depending on the circumstances.

Breaching a conduct condition

If there is no reasonable excuse for breaching a bail condition a person, it is considered an offence in Victoria. If the breach is minor, the police can issue an infringement notice for breaching the bail conditions.

If a person is found to be breaching the conduct condition of their bail, they can be charged, and the court can either re-grant bail or cancel bail. If the bail is cancelled, the person will remain in custody until their matters are finalised. A conviction of breaching a bail condition will be added to a person’s criminal record.

Forfeiture of surety

In some cases, the conditions for the release of an accused person on bail may include the entering into of an undertaking by surety/sureties. The surety may also have to deposit a sum of money or any other security. If the person on bail doesn’t come to court, the surety on their bail may have to forfeit the amount set by the court. Although a surety can apply for an order varying or cancelling that forfeiture.

Its important to note that its an offence for any person to indemnify, reimburse or guarantee any surety obligations under the bail, or to offer to do so. If this occurs, the surety and the person will be found guilt and charged with a penalty of up to 3 Months in prison.