Home Detention Sentences

Home Detention (HD) is a sentence that requires an offender to remain at an approved residence at all times under electronic monitoring and close supervision by a probation officer.  It can help offenders to maintain family relationships, keep working or actively seek work, attend training or rehabilitative programmes.  Sentences may range in length from 14 days to 12 months.

Who decides?

Only a sentencing judge can impose a sentence of home detention. They must take into account a pre-sentence report and recommendation from a probation officer who has assessed the person’s offending needs and the sentence and programmes likely to be the most suitable.

The pre-sentence report will take into account:

• the offender’s risk to the public
• their motivation to change
• their risk of re-offending
• the suitability of the proposed home detention address.

The probation officer also:

• checks any proposed work and rehabilitation programmes for the offender
• tells people sharing the address about the offender’s criminal convictions and seeks their consent to the offender being on home detention there.

How does it work?

Offenders will have standard detention conditions and may have special conditions imposed under home detention.

Standard conditions include:

• compliance with electronic monitoring conditions
• restrictions on leaving the residence
• restrictions on working arrangements
• restrictions on associating with certain people

Special conditions may include:

• participation in rehabilitative programmes
• having a judge monitor compliance throughout the sentence
• addressing any other issues that reduce the offender’s risk of further offending

Monitoring offenders

Offenders on home detention must wear an electronic anklet to monitor their whereabouts at all times. If they try to remove the anklet or leave the monitored property without permission an alarm is triggered and a security guard is sent to the address.

People on home detention can only work outside the approved address if authorised by their probation officer. Offenders can apply for approved absences such as rehabilitation, study, or healthcare. These absences are also monitored.

Enforcing HD

If the conditions of HD are not met an offender can be fined up to $2000 or sent to prison for up to one year. An offender on HD can also receive formal warnings depending on the nature of non-compliance. Other community-based sentences could also be imposed, or the probation officer may apply to the court to have the HD sentence cancelled and substituted with a sentence of imprisonment.