Bail in the Northern Territory: the Bail Act 1982 and the High Degree of Confidence Test

The Northern Territory presumes in favour of bail under section 8 of the Bail Act 1982 for most offences, but section 7A reverses that presumption for an enumerated list of serious and repeat offences and, since 7 May 2025, adds a high degree of confidence test on top of the ordinary criteria before bail can be granted for those charges, subject to a section 7A(2A) exception for people assessed as suitable for a prescribed or declared rehabilitation program.

Police bail and court bail

The Bail Act 1982 uses the term authorised member for police alongside court throughout its provisions, and Part 5 sets criteria and conditions, in sections 24, 24A, 24B, 27 and 27A, that apply to both police and court bail decisions. Because the substantive test in these shared criteria sections does not differ much between a police grant and a court grant, the Territory does not run the same separate police versus court test structure found in some other jurisdictions.

The presumption in favour of bail and the presumption against it

Section 8 states the general rule: a person is entitled to be granted bail for any offence not covered by section 7A, unless refusal is justified after considering the section 24 criteria, and for a youth the section 24A criteria, unless the person stands convicted, or unless bail is dispensed with under section 9. Section 7A reverses that presumption for an enumerated list of offences: murder, Misuse of Drugs Act offences carrying 7 or more years, Commonwealth narcotics import offences and Division 307 Criminal Code (Cth) offences carrying 10 or more years, listed Serious Crime Control Act 2009 offences, listed Criminal Code offences, repeat offending categories, including a serious or prescribed offence allegedly committed while on bail for one, two or more such findings of guilt, with a conviction recorded, in the previous 2 years, and repeat violence or domestic violence offending (some with a 2 or 10 year lookback), breach risk of an existing suspended sentence order, any serious violence offence, and any serious sexual offence. For these offences, section 7A(2) requires the accused to affirmatively satisfy the court or officer that bail should be granted, and section 7A(3) provides that the requirement for bail cannot be dispensed with under section 9. Under section 7A(2A), subsections (2), (2AA) and (2AB) do not apply to a person assessed as suitable for a prescribed rehabilitation program or a program declared under section 85A(1) of the Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007. Section 24(1) sets the general criteria weighed in every bail decision, including risk to community safety, probability of appearing, the accused's own interests, risk of interference with evidence or witnesses, risk to the alleged victim, and whether a domestic violence order is in force.

The high degree of confidence test

Since 7 May 2025, when the Bail and Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2025 commenced, section 7A(2AA) makes the section 24(1)(aa) risk to community safety factor the paramount consideration for section 7A category offences, and section 7A(2AB) adds a further requirement: bail must not be granted unless the decision maker has a high degree of confidence, considered in isolation from the general section 24 or 24A criteria, that the person will not commit a prescribed or serious violence offence or otherwise endanger community safety. This sits on top of, rather than replacing, the ordinary section 7A(2) requirement that the accused affirmatively satisfy the decision maker that bail should be granted. The section 7A(2A) exception described above, for a person assessed as suitable for a prescribed or declared rehabilitation program, also disapplies this test.

Youth bail differences

Section 24A adds criteria specific to a youth: the need to preserve family and carer relationships, the desirability of continuity in living arrangements, education, training and employment, the likely sentence if found guilty, trauma history, cognitive, health and developmental needs, Aboriginality specific cultural considerations, and a requirement to consider input from a bail support service. Section 24A(4) provides that a youth must not be refused bail solely because they lack adequate accommodation. The Bail and Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2025 removed two youth considerations from section 24A(2): considering all other options before remanding a youth in custody, and minimising the stigma to the youth of being remanded in custody. The current consolidation of section 24A(2) accordingly starts at paragraph (b) and skips paragraph (e).

Conditions

The Bail Act 1982 does not use the word surety in its operative provisions, but section 27(2) achieves the same function by listing acceptable persons who acknowledge, forfeit money, or deposit security on the accused's behalf. Section 27A, headed conduct agreements, is the main menu of conditions: non-association or no-contact orders, locality inclusion or exclusion functioning as a curfew or exclusion zone, a required residence including Minister-gazetted supported bail accommodation, reporting at specified intervals to a police station, alcohol or drug prohibition with compliance testing, and monitoring device conditions that differ by grantor and device type, an approved police monitoring device (police or court bail) or an approved monitoring device (court bail only), along with a voice sample condition for device verification. Section 38A makes an accused who destroys or damages a monitoring device liable for the Territory's cost of restoring or replacing it, recoverable as a debt.

Applying and reapplying for bail

Section 37 preserves an accused's right to apply for bail generally, even where a prior review power has not been exercised, and the Territory has no NSW style statutory new facts or changed circumstances gate on repeat applications. Section 19(1) says there is no limit on the number of bail applications to a court, and section 19(4) lets a court refuse to entertain one it finds frivolous or vexatious (section 36(6) applies the same filter to review requests), a materially lower bar than a fixed new facts rule. Section 36A gives the Crown an immediate review right over a Local Court release decision, triggering an automatic stay that ends no later than 4 pm on the third business day after the decision unless the Supreme Court extends it, during which the accused must not be released.

Review and appeal

Under section 33, a person refused police bail, given police bail conditions they cannot meet, or not dealt with within 4 hours of being charged can apply to the Local Court for review. Section 34 lets the Local Court review its own bail decisions, and section 35 lets the Supreme Court review a bail decision of the Local Court or the Supreme Court. Under section 36, those court reviews may be requested by the accused, a police informant or complainant, or the Director of Public Prosecutions, and a review is by way of rehearing with fresh evidence permitted. Section 36A separately lets the Crown seek immediate Supreme Court review of a Local Court decision to release, with the release stayed until the Supreme Court decides, the Crown withdraws, or 4 pm on the third business day after the decision, whichever is earliest, unless the Supreme Court extends that time.

Breach of bail

Section 37B makes it an offence to intentionally engage in conduct that recklessly results in a breach of the bail undertaking, under section 37B(1), or of a bail condition, under section 37B(2), each carrying a maximum of 200 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment. Section 37B(6) caps the penalty actually imposed at the maximum penalty available for the original offence, so the 200 unit figure is a ceiling rather than a floor and is overridden downward for a less serious original offence. Strict liability applies to the granted bail element under section 37B(3), and reasonable excuse is a defence under section 37B(5). Section 38(2A) makes bail revocation mandatory, with no discretion, where a person charged with a serious violence offence or a section 7A offence was released despite the presumption against bail and the court finds a breach of the undertaking or a condition, or where a person whose conduct agreement contains a court-ordered monitoring device requirement under section 27A(1)(ia) breaches bail by contravening it (section 38(2A)(b)). At the 194 dollar penalty unit value effective from 1 July 2026, the section 37B ceiling is 38,800 dollars, always subject to the section 37B(6) cap.

Recent reforms

The Bail Legislation Amendment Act 2024, known as Declan's Law, commenced on 6 January 2025 and amended the presumption provisions in sections 7A and 8, moved supported bail accommodation into the conduct agreement conditions, and repealed former section 37B(4). The Bail and Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2025, introduced and passed in one sitting day, commenced on 7 May 2025 and added the high degree of confidence test in section 7A(2AA) and 7A(2AB) and removed the two youth considerations described above. The Bail Amendment Act 2026 (in force from 1 April 2026) and the Criminal Procedure Legislation Amendment Act 2026 (in force from 1 July 2026) have since made further amendments to the Act. The Territory does not have a standalone coercive control offence. A definition of coercive control was instead inserted into the Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007 by the Justice Legislation Amendment (Domestic and Family Violence) Act 2023 to inform domestic violence order applications and breach proceedings only.

A person facing a Territory bail decision should get advice from NT Legal Aid or a lawyer rather than relying on this general information. For the domestic violence order framework that often runs alongside a section 7A domestic violence related charge, see Northern Territory domestic violence orders, and for context on coercive control across Australia, see coercive control laws in Australia. For how a Territory conviction can later affect background checks, see spent convictions in Australia, and for the state by state comparison of these tests, see bail laws across Australia on the Australia criminal law hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Northern Territory presume for or against bail?

Section 8 of the Bail Act 1982 entitles a person to bail for most offences, but section 7A reverses that presumption for an enumerated list of serious and repeat offences, requiring the accused to affirmatively satisfy the decision maker that bail should be granted, unless section 7A(2A) applies (a person assessed as suitable for a prescribed or declared rehabilitation program).

What is the high degree of confidence test?

Since 7 May 2025, section 7A(2AB) requires that, for section 7A offences, bail must not be granted unless the decision maker has a high degree of confidence, apart from the ordinary section 24 criteria, that the person will not commit a prescribed or serious violence offence or otherwise endanger community safety, unless section 7A(2A) applies (a person assessed as suitable for a prescribed or declared rehabilitation program).

What is the penalty for breaching bail in the Northern Territory?

Section 37B sets a maximum of 200 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment, which is 38,800 dollars at the 194 dollar penalty unit value effective from 1 July 2026, but section 37B(6) caps the actual penalty at the maximum for the original offence.

Is there a coercive control offence in the Northern Territory?

No standalone offence exists. A definition of coercive control was added to the Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007 to inform domestic violence order applications and breach proceedings only.

Can a person reapply for bail in the Northern Territory?

Section 37 preserves the right to apply for bail generally, and there is no NSW style new facts gate. Section 19(1) says there is no limit on the number of bail applications to a court, and section 19(4) lets a court refuse to entertain one it finds frivolous or vexatious; section 36(6) applies the same filter to review requests.

When must a Territory court revoke bail after a breach?

Section 38(2A) makes revocation mandatory, with no discretion, if a person charged with a serious violence offence or a section 7A offence was released despite the presumption against bail and the court finds a breach of the undertaking or a condition, or where a person breaches a court-ordered monitoring device requirement in a conduct agreement (section 38(2A)(b)).