Good Behaviour Bond

Good Behaviour Bonds were abolished in New South Wales in 2018. Current similar sentencing options are  Conditional Release Orders and Community Corrections Orders.

What is a “Good Behaviour Bond”?

A good behaviour bond was an order of the Court that required the Defendant to be of good behaviour for a specified period of time. 

The Court would impose conditions that the Defendant will need to comply with during the term of the good behaviour bond.  The maximum duration of a good behaviour bond is 5 years and would involve a criminal conviction being recorded on a person’s criminal record. Section 9 Good Behaviour Bonds were only available for an offence that carried a maximum penalty of imprisonment. For most offences the Court could impose both a fine and good behaviour bond.

Legislation:

Conditions of a Section 9 Good Behaviour Bond:

Standard Conditions 

The now repealed Section 95 of the Act provided that a good behaviour bond must contain a condition that the offender will appear before the Court when required to do so and that the offender will be of good behaviour. 

Additional Conditions

The sentencing Magistrate or Judge also had the ability to impose additional conditions as part of the Good Behaviour Bond. Those additional conditions include:

1. Probation Service Supervision – The Court can order that you be Supervised by an officer of the NSW Probation Service. Normally a Court will order that the supervision remain in place for as long as the Probation Service deem it necessary,
2. Counselling – The Court can order that you attend for drug or alcohol abuse counselling can be made a condition of a good behaviour bond.
3. Residence at Rehabilitation Centre – That you live at a particular rehabilitation centre for a period of time can be made a condition of the bond.

Conditions Which Could Not Be Imposed

A Court could not make it a condition of a bond that:

1. The offender pay compensation to the victim of the crime, or 
2. The offender performs community service work – this condition must have been made under a Community Service Order. 

Consequences of Beaching a Section 9 Good Behaviour Bond:

If the conditions of the good behaviour bond were complied with then there would be no further penalty. However if any conditions were not obeyed or breached the Court might have summoned the offender before the Court to be resentenced for the offence. 

In responding to the breach of the bond, the Court could do any one of the following: decide to take no action;

• Vary the conditions of the bond;
• Impose further conditions on the bond; or
• Revoke the bond and re-sentence you to a tougher penalty.

Will I Get a Criminal Record for a Good Behaviour Bond?

Whether a person received a criminal conviction with a bond depended on the power through which the bond was ordered. A bond that was made pursuant to Section 10 would not carry an associated criminal conviction, whereas a bond made pursuant to Section 9 or Section 12 would.