Parole Act 2002, ss 107A-107F

Extended supervision orders are made by the courts and apply to people who are serving sentences for serious sexual or violent offences and who are at high risk of committing further sexual or violent offences.

Applications for these orders are made by the Department of Corrections.

Parole Act 2002, ss 107F, 107G

An application for an extended supervision order can be made only after a health assessment by a psychiatrist or psychologist. If the health assessor believes you’re likely to re-offend then the Department of Corrections can apply for one of these orders.

They can apply for the order either before you’re released or while you’re still serving your release conditions.

Parole Act 2002, ss 107H-107IAA

An extended supervision order can only be made by the courts, not the Parole Board. You’ll have to attend a hearing and a judge will make a decision.

Before your hearing you must be given a copy of the health assessor’s report and other relevant information, such as statements from people who have known you in prison and statements from victims.

Parole Act 2002, s 107G

Yes, a lawyer can represent you at the hearing. You may be able to get legal aid for this.

It’s a really good idea to get a lawyer to represent you. You can contact the lawyer who has been representing you so far, or you can ask your local Community Law Centre for the names of lawyers in your area who specialise in extended supervision orders.

Parole Act 2002, ss 107I, 107IAA

An extended supervision order can be made for any amount of time up to 10 years.

In deciding how long the order will last, the court will take into account:

• how much risk there is that you’ll re-offend
• the seriousness of the harm that could be caused to victims if you do re-offend
• how long the risk of re-offending is likely to last for.

The extended supervision order can be reassessed at the end of 10 years and can be extended.

Parole Act 2002, ss 107J-107K

There are standard conditions that apply to anyone receiving an extended supervision order, and also special conditions that can be added.

These are the standard conditions:

• Your probation officer can order you to take part in rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.
• You must not meet with or contact (including by phone or internet) any child under 16 years old unless an adult is there who knows about your previous offending and who has been approved by the probation officer.
• You must not meet with or contact (including by phone or internet) any victims of your previous offending, or any people or groups of people named in the order.
• You must report to your probation officer within 72 hours (three days) after receiving the order, and then report to them whenever they tell you to.
• You must get written approval from your probation officer before you move to a new address or change jobs.
• Your probation officer can ban you from living at a particular address or from working at a particular job.

Any special conditions will be decided by the Parole Board, and can include being under supervision of a person approved by the board, for up to 24 hours a day.

Parole Act 2002, s 107R

Yes, you can appeal to the Court of Appeal. You can have a lawyer represent you, and you may be able to get legal aid.