About this survey

Legal Words

Legal terms used in this survey

Fine
A monetary penalty imposed by a court.

Community Correction Order
The new form of community based sentence scheduled to replace the current Community Based Order and Intensive Corrections Order. Courts will be able to impose conditions including unpaid community work, rehabilitation and treatment programs, curfews, no-go zones, driver’s licence suspension or cancellation, and electronic monitoring.

Imprisonment
A sentence that requires the offender to spend time in jail. An imprisonment sentence describes the maximum amount of time the offender will spend in jail. Courts will usually also set a non-parole period (see below).

Parole
An offender sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment may be eligible to serve part of their sentence outside of prison on parole. Prisoners granted parole are still under sentence. Parole aims to supervise and assist prisoners to re-integrate successfully into the community. Offenders on parole can be returned to prison if they re-offend or breach their parole conditions.

Non-parole period
The period of imprisonment that offenders must serve in prison before they are eligible for release on parole.

Aggravating and mitigating factors
A fact or circumstance of a crime or offender that affects the type and severity of a sentence set by a court. Aggravating factors may include planning a crime in advance or the use of violence in committing the crime. A mitigating factor might be the young age of the offender, or the fact that the crime was a first-time offence.