Review of the Bail Act
December 2004–October 2007
The commission's final report on its Review of the Bail Act was launched on 10 October 2007. It made 157 recommendations aimed at ensuring the Act functions simply, clearly and fairly.
Major recommendations included:
- a plain English rewrite of the Act
- the removal of the reverse onus tests
- greater consideration of the victims of crime.
In November 2005 the commission released the Review of the Bail Act: Consultation Paper and a booklet for victims of crime: Have Your Say About Bail Laws.
Close to 50 submissions were received in response to the Consultation Paper.
In June 2006 the government also asked the commission to consider the maximum sentence for failing to meet a surety and additional submissions on this topic were accepted until the end of July 2006.