Second Reading – Commonwealth Parole Board Bill 2025

Australians rightly expect that the release of offenders from custody into the community will be managed as safely as possible. 

That is why the Australian government is establishing an independent Commonwealth Parole Board—because decisions about whether convicted federal offenders are released into the community on parole and the conditions under which they are released should be made by law enforcement and other community safety experts, not by politicians.

The Commonwealth Parole Board will bring together experts from a range of professions and experience, including law, law enforcement, corrective services, victims-of-crime advocates, psychologists and other community safety experts. The board of experts will replace the Attorney-General as the decision-maker on whether to release federal offenders on parole. 

The highest priority for the Commonwealth Parole Board will be community safety. This important reform will strengthen the Australian public's trust and confidence in the federal parole system by ensuring that parole decisions are made by experts who are best placed to make robust assessments of risk when considering the protection of the community. 

We know parole can keep the community safer. 

It means that mandatory controls and mandatory supervision are in place for an offender in the community, which otherwise might not be available at the end of someone's sentence. Supervision on parole also allows for early detection of reoffending if it does occur. Those on parole are subject to strict supervision conditions which are informed by the advice of corrective services and law enforcement agencies.

Now is the right time to establish a Commonwealth Parole Board. 

There are approximately 1,200 federal offenders currently serving sentences across every state and territory in Australia—which is more than the prison populations of the ACT and Tasmania combined. 

The number of federal parole decisions has been rising every year. In 2024-25 there were over 530 federal parole or parole related decisions. This number has increased from 463 in 2023 to 2024 and has been increasing at a rate of 5 to 15 percent per year. 

Currently, the Attorney-General and delegates within the Attorney-General's Department are responsible for making decisions about the release of federal offenders on parole. 

Historically, this arrangement has been fit for purpose, due to the small numbers of federal offenders and nature of the cohort, which has traditionally comprised offences against the Commonwealth, such as social services fraud. 

The makeup and complexity of the federal offender cohort has changed over time. This cohort now includes increasing numbers of offenders who pose a direct risk to community safety, such as terrorists and child sex offenders. 

That is why the government is establishing an independent Commonwealth Parole Board. This will ensure that decisions about the release and management of federal offenders are made by people who have the appropriate skills and experience to make the decisions about an offender's prospects of rehabilitation and reintegration into the community, and ultimately the risks they pose to community safety.

There is overwhelming and widespread stakeholder support for an independent Parole Board. The board responds to and aligns with recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission, the Law Council of Australia and National Legal Aid. It is also welcomed by victims support groups and legal advocacy organisations. 

The reform also brings the federal parole system into step with best practice approaches in the states and territories, as well as Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, who all have statutory parole authorities independent from government.

This Commonwealth Parole Board Bill will establish a Commonwealth Parole Board as a secondary statutory structure in the Attorney-General's portfolio. The members of the board will be independent statutory office holders. 

The bill sets out the objectives of the Commonwealth Parole Board, which are to:

The parole framework and the management of federal offenders will remain largely the same as they currently are in the Crimes Act. The main change is to replace the Attorney-General with the board as the decision-maker for parole. The purpose of parole will continue to be the rehabilitation and reintegration of federal offenders, and the protection of the community.

The board will retain discretion to consider all information that is known and relevant to a decision. The board, and its staff, will have appropriate information sharing powers to enable them to request and use relevant information to support their decision-making.

The board will also make all parole decisions, including in relation to terrorism offenders. The bill will not change the statutory prohibition against parole for terrorist offenders. There is a very high threshold that must be met for a terrorism offender to be granted parole, and parole can only be granted if there are exceptional circumstances justifying the release. That won't change. 

The bill sets out the membership of the board which will consist of a chair, deputy chair and at least three sessional members. 

All members of the board will be appointed by the Governor-General for up to five-year terms, on the recommendation of the Attorney-General. When making these recommendations, the Attorney-General must ensure that members of the board have the appropriate qualifications, experience or knowledge to make decisions about a federal offender's prospects of rehabilitation and reintegration and the risks they pose to community safety.

At least one of the chair or deputy chair must have significant legal experience, to ensure they have the legal skills and expertise required to ensure that the broad discretion conferred on the board is exercised consistently with the framework in Part 1B of the Crimes Act and in accordance with procedural fairness. 

When recommending appointments to the board, the Attorney-General must also ensure that the board possesses an appropriate mix of qualifications, experience and knowledge and reflects, as closely as possible, the composition of the Australian community at large. Many parts of the Australian community have different experiences of the criminal justice system, either as victims or offenders. It is important that the board's membership includes individuals who have a diverse range of skills, expertise, lived experience and knowledge of the needs of people, and groups of people, significantly affected by the board's decisions. This includes, but is not limited to, expertise in law enforcement, the criminal justice system, the effective reintegration of offenders, community issues such as substance abuse or mental health issues and the impact of offences on victims. 

To reinforce the board's independence, the bill explicitly states that the board is not subject to direction from anyone in performing or exercising its functions or powers. The independence of the board is to ensure decisions made under this bill are not subject to any real or perceived influence from the government or any other persons.

The bill ensures that only the Governor-General can terminate members of the board, and only for serious matters including misbehaviour, incapacity, bankruptcy and extended unexplained absence. This further enshrines the independence of board members and limits political interference in their tenure.

To further support the transparency, accountability and independence of the board's functions, the chair will be required to develop an annual report, to be tabled in parliament, on the board's performance and its functions.

The bill also provides for a legislative review to commence three years after the board's commencement. The review will consider whether the parole framework is fit for purpose and review the composition, operation and decision-making processes of the board. The review will ensure that the board can continue to make decisions in an efficient and effective manner and ensure the new board can address any unforeseen issues that may arise.

The bill reflects the Australian government's commitment to strengthening standards of integrity across all public institutions and will support greater public confidence within the broader criminal justice system. It delivers on a commitment made prior to the 2025 election by the former attorney-general, the Hon. Mark Dreyfus KC MP, and I would like to acknowledge his work in bringing this important reform forward.

Parole is a key part of the criminal justice system, and it is well documented that the supervision of offenders in the community under strict controls minimises reoffending.

This important criminal justice reform will make the community safer by ensuring that parole decisions are made by independent experts who are best placed to make the robust assessments of risk required to protect the community. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.