Refusing Parole
If the Auhtority makes a decision to refuse parole, the reasons for doing so must be
recorded.
After refusing parole, the Authority must then determine whether the offender should automatically be granted a public review hearing, or whether the offender is required to convince the Authority, by way of an application, that a review hearing in court should be held.
If a review hearing is granted automatically, a document is sent to the offender to advise them of their appearance date (via audio-visual link) at the review hearing and asks the offender to nominate a legal representative. Most offenders are represented by
Legal Aid's Prisoners Legal Service
If the Parole Authority has determined that an offender needs to apply for a review hearing, a document is sent to the offender explaining this information and asks them to complete the application and provide reasons as to why a review hearing is appropriate. This completed form is then returned to the Parole Authority for consideration in a private meeting.
In the event that an offender does not seek a review hearing or a review hearing is not granted, and more than 12 months remains on the sentence, an offender can apply for release to parole on their
anniversary date, sometimes called an
annual review date.