Duty of a bailed person

5 Feb

NOTE: The law in this chapter is current as at 2 December 2024. Further changes to the bail laws are anticipated throughout 2025 (introduced by the Youth Justice Act 2024 (Vic).

An accused person who is granted bail is under a duty to a end court in accordance with the undertaking of bail and to surrender themselves into custody when so a ending (Bail Act s 5(1A)).

Bail Act Offences

A person released on bail who fails without reasonable cause to appear in accordance with the undertaking of bail and surrender themselves into custody is guilty of an offence. This carries a penalty of two years’ imprisonment. The accused has a defence to such a charge if it can be proven that there are reasonable grounds for their failure to appear (Bail Act s 30).
It is an offence to commit a schedule 1 or 2 offence while on bail. This can only be charged in respect of offending alleged to have been committed on or after 2 December 2024. It is not a schedule 2 offence per se, therefore the previous ‘uplift provisions’ which were in force prior to the March 2024 amendments do not apply. There is a presumption of concurrency in relation to this offence (see the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s 16).

Any police officer (or a protective services officer on duty at a railway premises or in the surrounding area) may arrest without warrant any person who has been released on bail if it is believed on reasonable grounds that the person is likely to break, is breaking, or has broken any bail condition (Bail Act s 24; definition of ‘designated place’ in Victoria Police Act 2013 (Vic) s 3(1); Victoria Police Regulations 2014 (Vic) reg 27).
The court may issue warrants for the arrest of a person bailed where they have failed to answer bail, or for the purpose of imposing additional conditions or security (Bail Act s 25). A bail decision-maker may also issue a warrant for the arrest of a person bailed for the purpose of imposing a further security (s 26).
A police officer who arrests an accused person who is on bail, but who is suspected of breaching their bail, must bring that person before a bail justice as soon as practicable and in any event within 24 hours. The bail justice can:
- release the person on their original undertaking; or
- release the person on a new undertaking with or without conditions or sureties; or
- revoke bail and remand the person in custody.