To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT): The petition of the undersigned residents of the ACT draws to the attention of the Assembly that repeat offending on bail within the ACT has risen 92 per cent since 2019, with 40 per cent of offenders arrested under ACT Policing’s Operation TORIC already being on bail.
The Bail Act 1992 lacks mandatory, evidence-based risk testing, and lacks sufficiently clear grounds to refuse bail for habitual or recidivist offenders, undermining both community safety and public confidence in the ACT’s justice system. This summary sets out the key reforms being proposed under the ACT Bail Reform Petition 2025. These measures aim to strengthen risk-based decision making, reduce reoffending, and support vulnerable young people and families.
Repeat offending while on bail in the ACT is rising and undermining community confidence. The Bail Act 1992 currently lacks a mandatory, evidence-based process to identify and manage high risk accused adult or youth individuals, before they are released. We, the community, call for reforms that embed structured risk assessment in every bail decision and strengthen supports and accountability, especially where children and families are involved. Under the present framework, courts may consider offence seriousness and public safety risks, but the Act does not compel them to apply a standardised risk tool. Without a consistent assessment, individuals with extensive offending histories can still receive bail, resulting in additional harm, repeated breaches, and further erosion of public trust.
Current Practice
• Risk assessments are ad hoc; there is no single validated tool across ACT jurisdictions.
• When requested, Youth Justice Services can prepare assessment reports or support packages, but these are not mandatory or uniform.
• Magistrates exercise broad discretion, often without empirical guidance on likelihood of reoffending or threats to community safety.
• Repeat offending and prior bail breaches are not expressly recognised in legislation as grounds to refuse bail, even for serious or escalating behaviour.
• As a result, high-risk accused individuals frequently obtain bail despite multiple prior offences or breaches, producing inconsistent outcomes and preventable harm.
Evidence Snapshot
• Operation TORIC (ACT Policing, 2022 - 2024): 40 % of 500 arrestees were already on bail.
• ABS (2019- 2024): Breach of bail and related arrests nearly doubled.
• AIHW (2024): 54 % of supervised youth return to supervision within 12 months.
• Youth Remand (ACT CJSP): Headcount up 14 % since December 2021. Human Rights Compatibility The proposed amendments are compatible with section 18 of the Human Rights Act 2004: they impose the least restrictive measures necessary, guided by validated evidence, and include safeguards for children and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We urge you to champion amendments to the Bail Act 1992 so that structured, evidence based risk assessment becomes standard practice, community safety is prioritised, and young people and families receive the supports needed to stop the cycle of reoffending. Sources: RoGS 2025 (Corrective Services & Youth Justice), AIHW Youth Justice Tables 2023–24, ABS Criminal Courts Data 2019–2024, ACT Inspector of Correctional Services Annual Report 2023–24.
Your petitioners therefore request the Assembly to amend the Bail Act 1992 and associated regulations to:
1. Make proven repeat offending or a prior breach of bail a legislated ground for refusing bail, with a reverse presumption against bail in such cases;
2. Require ACT courts to apply a validated, structured risk assessment before any decision on bail is made, ensuring consistent and evidence-based risk evaluation across all ACT jurisdictions;
3. Adopt a single ACT-wide Structured Bail Risk Tool and publish anonymised quarterly data on bail decisions, breach rates, and reoffending outcomes to support transparency and continuous improvement;
4. Enable a curfew and GPS-enabled electronic monitoring program as a legislated alternative to custodial remand;
5. Establish a time-limited bail reform task force (six months) to coordinate further legislative modernisation and develop nationally recognised rehabilitation programs that reduce reoffending;
6. Create a tiered, 24/7 Youth Bail Assessment and Support Service to provide immediate access to assessment, crisis accommodation, transport, and alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment supports;
7. Maintain supported bail for first-time, low-risk, or non-violent youth offences, but apply a ‘show cause’ requirement for serious repeat property or violent offences;
8. Introduce a swift and certain response to a child’s first minor breach of bail, including restorative conferencing within 48 hours and immediate implementation of community-based accountability measures; and
9. Mandate participation by both the child and their family in culturally safe, trauma-informed parenting and family support programs for children and young people facing serious or repeat charges, as a condition of supported bail.
These reforms are designed to improve community safety, reduce reoffending, support early intervention and rehabilitation, and uphold the rights of both accused individuals and victims, in accordance with the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT) and the Children and Young People Act 2008.