New South Wales Consolidated Acts

BAIL ACT 1978 - SECT 37

37 Restrictions on imposing bail conditions

(1) Bail shall be granted unconditionally unless the authorised officer or court is of the opinion that one or more conditions should be imposed for the purpose of:

(a) promoting effective law enforcement, or

(b) the protection and welfare of any specially affected person, or

(c) the protection and welfare of the community, or

(d) reducing the likelihood of future offences being committed by promoting the treatment or rehabilitation of an accused person.

(2) Conditions shall not be imposed that are any more onerous for the accused person than appear to the authorised officer or court to be required:

(a) by the nature of the offence, or

(b) for the protection and welfare of any specially affected person, or

(c) by the circumstances of the accused person.

(2A) Before imposing a bail condition on an accused person who has an intellectual disability, the authorised officer or court is to be satisfied that the bail condition is appropriate having regard (as far as can reasonably be ascertained) to the capacity of the accused person to understand or comply with the bail condition.

(3) A condition referred to in section 36 (2) (b)-(h) shall not be imposed unless the authorised officer or court is of the opinion that any condition or combination of conditions referred to in any preceding paragraph or paragraphs of section 36 (2) is not likely to secure the purpose referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), the authorised officer or court may, at the request of the accused person, grant bail subject to any conditions referred to in section 36 (2) appropriate to secure the purpose referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

(5) In this section:
"intellectual disability" means a significantly below average intellectual functioning (existing concurrently with two or more deficits in adaptive behaviour) that results in the person requiring supervision or social rehabilitation in connection with daily life activities.
"specially affected person" means:

(a) any person against whom it is alleged that the offence concerned was committed, and

(b) the close relatives of any such person, and

(c) any other person whose needs, in the opinion of the authorised officer or court, warrant special consideration because of the circumstances of the case.