The bill establishes an independent Commonwealth Parole Board to assume responsibility for making risk-informed decisions about the conditional release and management of federal offenders and other detained persons, transferring this power from the Attorney-General. It also makes consequential and transitional amendments to the Crimes Act 1914 to give effect to the new Board.
The Commonwealth Parole Board (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2025 amends the Crimes Act 1914 and related legislation to support the establishment of the Commonwealth Parole Board under the Commonwealth Parole Board Act 2025. Schedule 1 replaces references to the Attorney-General with the new Board in parole-related provisions and introduces a structured framework (new sections 19AKB–19AKF) for making, refusing or deferring parole orders within specified timeframes. It aligns decision-making processes with state and territory parole authorities and clarifies transitional arrangements for existing sentences. The amendments ensure that parole applications are risk-informed, transparent and subject to judicial review, while providing mechanisms for deferment, reconsideration periods up to 24 months, and immunity for Board members. The changes commence on proclamation (expected 2026) or within 12 months of Royal Assent.
Creating a standalone, expert Parole Board embeds impartiality and procedural fairness into federal parole decisions, ensuring that release into the community is authorised only when risk is effectively managed. Transferring power from a political office to a body with security, corrections and legal expertise reduces arbitrary delays and increases consistency in outcomes, upholding the right to a fair hearing under international law [Judgment].
Independent appellate mechanisms and clear statutory timeframes for decision, deferment and reconsideration enhance transparency and accountability, building public trust and strengthening social stability by reducing recidivism risk through evidence-based release practices [Judgment]. Immunity and information-sharing provisions ensure Board members can carry out their duties without undue fear of litigation, while retaining judicial review as a safeguard.
The creation of a new Parole Board imposes significant costs ($28.3 million over four years plus $7.3 million annually) without clear evidence of improved outcomes. Adding bureaucratic layers and complex new decision timeframes risks delaying some eligible offenders’ release, undermining rehabilitation opportunities and community reintegration [Judgment].
From an egalitarian perspective, these funds could be better allocated to direct treatment programs, mental health services and community-based support that have proven effectiveness in reducing reoffending, rather than on administrative overhead. The proposed framework may simply redistribute existing inefficiencies rather than deliver measurable gains in public safety.
2025-10-08
House of Representatives
Before House of Representatives
Unspecified
Attorney-General
Criminal Law Reform