Once a person is charged with a crime, they can either be kept in gaol until the case goes to court or they can be granted bail. Bail is an agreement by the accused person that they will appear at court.

Police make the first decision about whether the accused person should be held in custody or be released on bail. Police will consider things such as the seriousness of the crime, the safety of victims and witnesses, the safety of the community and whether the accused person is likely to turn up to court, when deciding about bail.

If bail is refused, the accused person may apply to court for a bail review.

In many cases bail is granted and police or the court may impose bail conditions.

What are bail conditions?
Sometimes accused people are granted bail with special conditions or rules. These are known as bail conditions. The person must follow the bail conditions until the next court appearance. Bail conditions may state that the accused person is not to contact or approach you or any other witnesses in the case.

Police should tell you what the bail conditions are. Once the accused has agreed to the bail conditions, they are released from custody. Police can arrest the person if they breach the bail conditions.

You should tell police if you have fears for your safety. You should report any breaches to the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or your Local Area Command as soon as possible. Find the contact details for the Local Area Command on the NSW Police Force website. If it’s an emergency, call 000 and ask for Police.