Bail by mail. A guide for bail or varying bail if you have been charged with a crime in Queensland

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Please note: This publication is only available online

How can this guide help me?

This guide can help if:

• you are on remand and want to apply for bail in the Supreme Court of Queensland or
• you are still in custody because you can’t meet a bail requirement and need to apply to change a bail order.

The guide explains how to apply for bail or apply to change a bail order. It also includes sample court forms you can use to help you apply for bail.

Do not use this guide if:

• you have been charged with an offence outside of Queensland (in another state or territory); contact the Legal Aid commissioner in that state or territory for advice on applying for bail
• you want help to argue against your charges—get legal advice if you are in this situation.

This guide has brief information about applying for bail while you wait for an appeal. Get legal advice if you are in this situation.

Do I need legal advice?

If you have been charged with an offence and want to apply for bail then you should get legal advice. Get legal advice before you start applying for bail.

If you’ve been charged with a serious offence or have an urgent matter, you should apply for legal aid or get a private lawyer, rather than wait for a legal advice appointment.

Where can I get legal advice?

Legal Aid Queensland

1300 65 11 88

Call for free legal advice about bail.

A private lawyer

1300 367 757

Call the Queensland Law Society (QLS) to find the names of specialist private lawyers for advice and representation.

A community legal centre

1300 65 11 88

www.legalaid.qld.gov.au

Community legal centres may give free legal advice and information on some criminal law matters. Call Legal Aid Queensland or visit the website to find services in your area and if a community legal centre can help with your matter.

What is bail?

Bail is a written promise you sign (called an undertaking) to come to court on a specific date to face the charges against you. To get bail you may have to agree to certain rules known as bail conditions.

Bail conditions can include:

• regularly reporting to a police station
• living at a certain address
• having someone act as a surety.

If you break a condition, or don’t appear in court when you’re supposed to, you’re breaking the law. You can apply for bail if you’re a defendant and you want to be released from custody while waiting for all charges against you to be dealt with.

How do I apply for bail in the Supreme Court?

In most circumstances you must first apply for bail in the Magistrates Court before you apply in the Supreme Court. If you have been refused bail in the Magistrates Court then you should:

• complete the court forms (see sample forms)
• file one original and two copies of each form with the Supreme Court
• present your bail application to the Supreme Court.

Stage 1 – Complete the court forms

If you are remanded in custody without bail, you must complete these forms to apply for bail. If you are in custody, you should ask correctional centre staff how you can access these forms at your centre.

1. Form 2 – Application for bail in the Supreme Court.
2. Form 11 – Affidavit in support of your application for bail with any exhibits (eg letters of support).
3. Certificate of Exhibit. If you have exhibits you must attach a Certificate of Exhibit to them. Attach a separate Certificate of Exhibit to each exhibit.
4. A draft bail order.

All forms are available online at courts.qld.gov.au

These forms must be typed or neatly handwritten. Arrange access to a computer to type the forms through your unit officer, welfare counsellor or the bail clerk at your correctional centre.

If you make a mistake on your form, do not use liquid paper. Rule a line through any mistakes and write the correction in neat handwriting. If you make a mistake in your affidavit, you and the person who witnesses the form must write an initial next to the correction in the side margin.

Applications can be submitted by post, and in some jurisdictions by email.

Complete Form 2 – Application for bail

You must list all the charges you are remanded in custody on in this form. You can get the details of your charges from Sentence Management at your correctional centre.

In your application you must say whether you have applied for bail in the Supreme Court before. If you have, you must give details of the court, place and date of any previous Supreme Court bail applications.

Use the sample Form 2 – Application for bail in the Supreme Court(PDF, 200KB) as a guide to help you fill out this form.

Complete Form 11 – Affidavit

You must complete a Form 11 – Affidavit to give the court information about your situation. Your affidavit needs to include the following information in numbered paragraphs:

• details of your charges
• the time you have spent remanded in custody
• where you propose to live and who you will live with
• your previous addresses for the past two years
• your proposed employment (if any)
• your previous employment or social security status
• your proposed reporting conditions (frequency and location)
• amount of surety (if any)
• explanations for previous bail breaches
• personal information (if any)
• any counselling you are prepared to attend
• if you are young (eg 20 or under), include whether you will abide by a curfew.

If you have previously been refused Supreme Court bail on the same charges, you must tell the court why your circumstances have changed to make you eligible for bail.

You must also follow these layout guidelines when completing your affidavit to make sure it meets the court’s requirements:

• Put a footnote with your name and address at the bottom of the first page. Your address can be a correctional facility.
• Number each paragraph. If a paragraph does not apply to you then delete it from your affidavit and renumber the remaining paragraphs (eg if you delete paragraph 9, then paragraph 10 would be renumbered to paragraph 9 and so on).
• Each supporting document (eg letter from your employer) is known as an ‘exhibit.’ You must have a Certificate of Exhibit attached for each exhibit. (See sample Certificate of Exhibit(PDF, 161KB)).

Tips to help you complete your affidavit

Here are some tips to help you complete certain paragraphs in your Form 11 – Affidavit.

Use the sample Form 11 – Affidavit(PDF, 204KB) as a guide for how your affidavit should look and what information to include.

Paragraph 3: Details of your charges

You must list all the charges you want bail for. Ask your correctional centre to give you details about the exact charges you are being held in custody for. They will give you either long or short title charges. Copy these charges onto your affidavit, application and draft bail order.

A long charge will look like this:

“That on the nineteenth day of December 2023 at Brisbane in the State of Queensland, one Jane Helene Plain stole from one Kane Lane with actual violence, $100 and at the time Jane Helene Plain was in the company of another person.”

A short charge will look like this:

“1 x stealing with actual violence while in company.”

The court will accept either type of charge, as long as it is correct and you include all the charges you want bail for.

Paragraph 4: Your next court date

Ask your correctional centre for the date and court location of your next appearance. If you are serving a sentence but you are on remand for other offences, you should get legal advice about applying for bail.

Paragraph 6: Time spent in custody

List the time you have spent remanded in custody. Check the date with your correctional centre.

Paragraph 9: Where you plan to live

The court wants to be sure you will have a suitable place to live if you are released on bail. You should tell the court where you plan to live, who you will be living with and your relationship with them.

You should also include a letter from the person you will be living with as an exhibit with its own Certificate of Exhibit.

Paragraph 10: Your previous addresses for the past two years

If you have lived in Queensland for an extended period of time (eg six months or more) before you were arrested, make sure you include this in your affidavit.

Paragraphs 12 & 13: Your planned and previous employment or social security benefits

List your planned employment and details of your employment history.

Include all your previous jobs. You are not limited to mentioning one or two. It is important you include those jobs you held for a long time.

Paragraph 14: Surety

Before you write the name of the person you have in mind to provide your surety, phone or write to them to make sure they are willing to do so. Ask the person to write a letter confirming this and exhibit it to your affidavit.

A person can only provide surety if they:

• are 18 or older
• haven’t been convicted of an indictable offence
• have decision-making capacity
• aren’t an involuntary patient under the Mental Health Act 2016 who is detained or likely to be detained in an authorised mental health service
• aren’t a forensic disability client under the Forensic Disability Act 2011
• aren’t a person for whom a guardian or administrator has been appointed under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000
• have not been, and are not likely to be charged with an offence
• aren’t insolvent
• have money or property equal to or more than the bail amount.

A person can only offer money or property as surety if it belongs to them. If a person owns property, they can only provide surety for the amount they actually own. If there’s still a mortgage, the surety can only cover the amount the person has paid off.

If you fail to appear in court then the surety will have to pay the amount they agreed to. A person who is considering providing a surety for someone should get their own legal advice.

It is an offence to promise to pay back or ‘make good’ any costs or financial losses a person may suffer as surety because you fail to appear in court. This is known as ‘indemnifying a surety’ and is against the law.

Paragraph 16: Previous bail breaches

Fill in this section if you have breached bail in the past. It is important to give reasons for every time you failed to appear.

Paragraph 17: Personal information

Include any personal information you think the judge should know. For example, a serious medical condition that you or someone you care for has, such as your child, de facto, husband/wife or parent.

Include any details about any counselling you are willing to attend and, if you are 20 or younger, whether you will agree to by a curfew.

Draft a bail order

You should have a draft bail order to hand to the judge hearing your application.

The draft order sets out the charges you are wanting bail for.

It includes standard conditions and other conditions you think the judge may include. For example, a condition to live at a drug rehabilitation centre.

A judge might make a condition that you must wear a monitoring (tracking) device. The judge can make this condition for any reason or offence.

Use the sample draft bail order(PDF, 189KB) as a guide to help you complete your draft order.

How to change a surety on your bail order

If you can’t meet a bail condition, you should apply to the court or jurisdiction that gave you bail to vary (change) the order. You can apply to the Supreme Court to vary (change) a bail order from any court.

People usually want to change a bail order because the person providing surety can’t provide the agreed amount of money. If a magistrate or judge sets an amount for surety that is more than the person providing the surety can afford, you can apply to the Supreme Court to have the surety removed or the amount reduced.

Steps to follow when applying to change your bail order:

1. Complete a Form 4 – Application for variation of bail
2. Complete a Form 11 - Affidavit (in support of variation of bail). This should contain the information included in your previous bail application, and extra paragraphs saying when you were granted bail, by which court, and on what conditions.
3. Provide letters to support your application. These should be attached to the affidavit with a Certificate of Exhibit.
4. Provide a Certificate of Exhibit.
5. Provide a Draft order (in support of variation of bail).

1. Complete Form 4 – Application to vary bail

You must list all the charges you are remanded in custody on in your application. You must include details of the existing bail order (court, location and date).

Use the sample Form 4 – Application for variation of bail(PDF, 193KB) as a guide.

2. Complete Form 11 – Affidavit (in support of application to vary bail)

Your affidavit needs to include the paragraphs in the sample Form 11 – Affidavit(PDF, 204KB), as well as extra information about your existing bail conditions.

You should also include the reasons why the existing bail conditions can’t be met and what other arrangement you have in place.

The court may include other conditions if a bail order is changed, such as reporting to your local police station every day.

Use the sample Form 11 – Affidavit (in support of application to vary bail)(PDF, 168KB) as a guide.

3. Provide letters to support your application

Get letters from people who can support your application for bail. You need to attach copies of your letters of support to your affidavit. Each letter must have a Certificate of Exhibit attached. The original letters must be filed with your application.

Use the sample letter of support and the sample Certificate of Exhibit(PDF, 161KB) as a guide.

Surety

Ask the person making your surety to provide a letter to the court confirming their offer of surety.

The letter should include:

• how much they are offering as surety
• proof they can afford this amount (eg bank statements)
• a statement showing they understand they will lose the money if you fail to appear in court at the next scheduled time
• a statement showing they are aware of your charges.

Use the sample surety’s letter(PDF, 105KB) as a guide.

If the court grants you bail with a condition of surety, the person offering the surety will need to complete a Form 11 – Affidavit of justification.

Use the sample Form 11 – Affidavit of justification(PDF, 216KB) as a guide.

Residence

Ask the person you will be living with to write a letter confirming the details in your Form 11 – Affidavit. This person should also state they are aware of your charges, their relationship to you, and whether they are willing to report any bail breaches to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Medical condition

If you have a medical condition and feel you can’t be treated properly while on remand, get a doctor’s letter detailing your medical history/condition and the name of your regular doctor. If you have access to a more detailed report, you can hand it to the judge at your bail application hearing.

Drug/alcohol rehabilitation

It may help your application if you are on, or would like to join, a rehabilitation program for drug/alcohol abuse. Some programs offer live-in accommodation to people on bail. If you are prepared to live at a rehabilitation centre, ask the drug and alcohol counsellor at your centre to arrange an assessment. If you are assessed as suitable for a live-in program, ask the rehabilitation centre to provide written confirmation, which you can give to the judge.

Stage 2 – File your bail application

Once you have completed the court forms, follow these steps before filing them in the Supreme Court.

Check your court forms

Spend time checking all the information on your forms is correct. Mistakes may stop you getting bail.

Make sure you have your Form 2 – Application for bail and Form 11 – Affidavit. Make sure you put your name and address in the footnote of the first page of both forms (this can be the address of the correctional centre).

Get your forms witnessed

You must sign your Form 2 – Application for bail.

You must sign your final Form 11 – Affidavit in front of a justice of the peace, commissioner for declarations or a lawyer so they can witness your signature. Ask your unit officer, welfare counsellor or the bail clerk to help organise these signatures. Applications sent by email also need to be signed.

You do not sign the draft bail order—the deputy registrar will sign it if you are given bail.

File your bail application in the Supreme Court

After your forms are signed and witnessed, make three photocopies of all your forms. Keep one copy of all the forms for yourself. File the original and two copies of each document with the Supreme Court registry in the jurisdiction your charges are being heard. If you’re not sure which jurisdiction your charges are being heard, get legal advice.

When your application has been filed at the court registry, the court will tell your correctional centre the hearing date so your correctional centre can arrange your appearance. In some circumstances you may appear by video link. Applications will be heard in court as soon as possible after your documents are filed.

Brisbane Supreme Court

You can send your application and supporting material by post to:

QEII Courts of Law Complex
PO Box 15167
City East Qld 4002

You may be able to file your material by email to ccu@justice.qld.gov.au

Once your application and supporting material has been filed, you can serve the documents to:

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
GPO Box 2403
Brisbane Qld 4001

Cairns Supreme Court

You can send your application and supporting material by post to:

Supreme Court of Queensland – Cairns Registry
PO Box 1110
Cairns Qld 4870

Once your application and supporting material has been filed, you can serve the documents to:

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
PO Box 1095
Cairns Qld 4870

Rockhampton Supreme Court

You can send your application and supporting material by post to:

Supreme Court of Queensland – Rockhampton Registry
PO Box 300
Rockhampton Qld 4700

Once your application and supporting material has been filed, you can serve the documents to:

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
PO Box 1304
Rockhampton Qld 4700

Townsville Supreme Court

You can send your application and supporting material by post to:

Supreme Court of Queensland – Townsville Registry
PO Box 1032
Townsville Qld 4810

Once your application and supporting material has been filed, you can serve the documents to:

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
PO Box 989
Townsville Qld 4810

Stage 3 – Going to court

What to bring to court

It is important to dress cleanly and neatly when you go to court. Make sure you bring all copies of your documents, including your:

• Form 2 – Application for bail
• Form 11 – Affidavit
• Letters of support
• Draft bail order.

Prepare a checklist for your bail hearing listing the main reasons why you want bail.

If you are asked whether you have something to say, you can read your list to the judge—this is easier than having to look through the pages of your forms.

What to do in court

1. You will be taken into the court room and shown where to sit.
2. The prosecutor will give you a copy of the material they plan to use.
3. The judge will ask the prosecutor what material they have for the judge to read and may ask if you have material, such as supporting letters, to give the judge.
4. The judge will ask everyone to be seated and will read the material.
5. The judge will ask the prosecutor to make their submissions. The prosecutor will state why they think you should not get bail, or they may tell the judge your bail application is not opposed. If the prosecutor says something you disagree with, do not interrupt. You will be given an opportunity to speak later.
6. The judge will ask you for submissions to support your application. This means you must tell the judge the important information included in your Form 11 – Affidavit and mention any letters of support you have. You should address the judge as “Your Honour”. Don’t rely on the fact that this information is included in your Form 11 – Affidavit—you need to tell the judge this information.

Explain the important parts of your application in detail. Do not talk about whether you are guilty or not guilty of the charges or what your defence is. Remember, anything you say in your bail hearing can be used against you at your trial.

The judge’s decision

The judge has three options when deciding your application for bail. The judge can:

• give you bail
• refuse bail
• adjourn (postpone) the application.

What the judge looks at when granting bail

The judge will look at different things when deciding if you can meet your bail conditions and whether you should be given bail. These include:

1. Seriousness of the offence

If you have committed a serious offence, you will need strong reasons for bail to be given. The judge must think about the community’s safety.

2. Previous bail breaches

If you have breached bail in the past by failing to appear in court, you will need to explain to the judge why you breached bail and convince them you will not do it again. The judge may ask for a surety.

3. Previous criminal history

The judge will have a record of your criminal history in Queensland and interstate.

Your criminal history will affect your bail application, especially if your previous convictions are similar to your current charge or you have committed offences while on bail.

You should explain any previous convictions for bail breaches to the judge.

If you have a history of drug or alcohol related offences, the judge may include counselling and/or urine testing as a bail condition.

4. Ties with Queensland

The judge is more likely to give you bail if you can show you have strong ties with Queensland either because your family lives here or you have lived here all your life.

Tell the judge:

• where you will live if you get bail (include specific address)
• who you will be living with and your relationship to them
• where you were living when you were arrested.

If you will stay in a boarding house, hostel or rehabilitation centre, make sure you confirm these arrangements before you go to court. Include the address of the boarding house or hostel in your affidavit and offer to report to a police station regularly.

The judge may give you bail even if you live in another state, however they may include a surety in your bail conditions. See ‘Surety’ below.

5. Surety

In some circumstances a surety may be needed. See Paragraph 14: Surety for more information about what is needed to offer a surety.

The surety amount will usually be higher if:

• your offence is serious
• you have previously failed to appear in court
• you don’t have strong ties with Queensland.

6. Employment

It will help your bail application if you can give the judge proof you will have a job if given bail.

7. Medical history

If you have a medical condition that needs ongoing or specialist treatment, the judge may take your medical history into account.

8. Drug, alcohol or gambling addiction and domestic violence

If you are remanded in custody on drug related charges or have previous convictions for drug related offences, it will help your application if you can give the judge proof you are trying to improve your alleged offending behaviour. For example, you could include a letter confirming your placement in a drug rehabilitation centre or counselling for your alleged addiction or behaviour.

The judge will usually give you bail unless the prosecutors can show there is an unacceptable risk of you committing more offences or failing to appear in court.

What if I have to ‘show cause’?

In some cases, you may have to ‘show cause’—meaning you won’t get bail unless you can give the judge reasons why you should get bail and not stay in jail.

You may have to ‘show cause’, if:

• you’re charged with an indictable offence while you’re on bail for an indictable offence
• it’s alleged you used, or threatened to use, a weapon when committing an offence
• you’re charged with an offence against the Bail Act (eg if you’re charged for failing to appear in court or breaching a bail condition)
• you’re charged with an offence against control order provisions or for breaching a public safety order
• you’re charged with threatening a law enforcement officer when or because the officer is investigating criminal organisation activities
• you’re charged with choking, suffocation or strangulation in a domestic setting under the Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld)
• you’re charged with an offence punishable by a maximum penalty of at least seven years’ imprisonment if the offence is also a domestic violence offence
• you’re charged with offences against the Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld) including threatening violence, stalking, deprivation of liberty if the offence is also a domestic violence offence
• you’re charged with breaching a domestic violence order and the offence involved violence to a person or property (or threatened or attempted violence) or if you’re charged with breaching a domestic violence order and you have been convicted of other certain offences in the past.

There are other reasons that may also result in having to ‘show cause’. Your lawyer can tell you if you have to show cause, and how you can show the judge you should not be in jail.

Option 1. The judge can give you bail

The judge will only give you bail if they believe you will meet certain bail conditions. These could include:

• you will appear in court for your next hearing
• you will not break the law while on bail
• you are not a danger to the general public, witnesses or yourself
• you will regularly report to your local police station
• you will live at a certain fixed address.

What happens if the judge gives me bail?

If you are given bail, you will be taken back to the correctional centre to be released.

If a person has to provide a surety, they must come to the local Magistrates Court to sign a Form 11 – Affidavit of justification. This shows the judge they have enough money or assets to pay the surety if you breach your bail conditions.

People providing sureties must sign the affidavit and bring at least two types of photo identification with them and all relevant documents (eg bank statements or copies of property deeds).

Use the sample Affidavit of justification(PDF, 216KB) as a guide.

The judge may use your draft bail order, add or delete clauses from your bail order, or ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to draft a new bail order.

Option 2. The judge can refuse bail

If the judge refuses to give you bail, you can apply again if your circumstances change. For example, you may not have had a surety for this application but you may be able to organise one in the future and can reapply for bail then.

Option 3. The judge can adjourn the application

The judge may adjourn (postpone) your application because they may need more information from you or the prosecutor. For example, they might want to check if you can you get a place in a drug rehabilitation program.

If the judge sets a date for the hearing, you will go to court on that date.

If the judge adjourns the hearing to a date to be set, you need to set the next court date by writing a letter to the Supreme Court, attaching a copy of your Form 2 – Application for bail to the letter and requesting another court date. The Supreme Court will write to tell you the date. You must then write to the Director of Public Prosecutions to tell them the new court date.

Use the sample letter to the Supreme Court(PDF, 132KB) as a guide.

What if I need to change my bail conditions?

To change your bail conditions, you’ll usually need to go back to the court that gave you bail and explain to the judge why the conditions need to be changed. You can do this at your next court date, or if it’s urgent, you can email the court to see if they can make your court date sooner.

You can find contact details for each courthouse in Queensland at www.courts.qld.gov.au/contacts/courthouses

If you have a bail condition that says you must live at a particular address, or report to a particular police station at certain times, you might be able to get approval to change the address, reporting station or times.

You should get legal advice immediately if you need to change your bail conditions to make sure you’re not breaching bail. If you breach your bail conditions, you can be charged with an offence.

If you have multiple charges, your bail conditions may say you must appear in more than one court (eg the Magistrates Court and the District Court). If this is the case, any changes will have to be made to all bail conditions.

Can I apply for bail while waiting to appeal?

If you are appealing against a conviction or sentence, you may be able to apply for bail before the appeal is heard.

The judge will only give appeal bail in exceptional circumstances and usually only if the sentence you are serving is for six months or less.

When deciding whether to give you bail, the judge will look at:

• the type of offences you are appealing and the sentences you received
• whether there is a risk you will have served all or most of your sentence before your appeal is heard
• whether there are special circumstances that show an error was made in your case in the Magistrates or District Court, so there is a good chance your appeal will be successful.

To apply for bail while waiting for an appeal, you will need to follow the same process as an ordinary bail application.

The affidavit you need to complete for a bail application while waiting to appeal is almost the same as Form 11 – Affidavit of justification in this guide, but there are a few extra things you need to do. Get legal advice if you are applying for bail while waiting to appeal.

Sample forms

Applying for bail

Form 2 – Application for bail in the Supreme Court(PDF, 200KB)

Form 11 – Affidavit(PDF, 204KB)

Certificate of Exhibit(PDF, 161KB)

Form 12 – Draft bail order(PDF, 189KB)

Authority(PDF, 154KB)

Changing a bail order

Form 4 – Application for variation of bail(PDF, 193KB)

Form 11 – Affidavit (in support of application to vary bail)(PDF, 168KB)

Draft bail order (in support of variation of bail)(PDF, 158KB)

Supporting documentation

Surety’s letter of support(PDF, 105KB)

Employment letter of support(PDF, 105KB)

Letter to the Supreme Court(PDF, 132KB)

Form 11 – Affidavit of justification(PDF, 216KB)

Note

These are sample documents and forms only. They are a guide to show you what information should be included. Do not copy the information on the sample documents and forms. You should put in information about your own situation.

You will not need to use all these forms. Only use the ones that apply to you.

If you need help about how to fill in any of the forms, get legal advice.

Type your answers or write neatly in black or blue pen.

Make sure your information is correct and always double-check the spelling of the names of people involved.

Include as much information as possible in your affidavit—it is better to include too much information than to leave out something important.

Useful contacts

Live-in rehabilitation and counselling centres

Brisbane Recovery Services Centre (Moonyah)

58 Glenrosa Rd
PO Box 81, Red Hill Qld 4059
07 3369 0922 or 07 3369 0355

Goldbridge

PO Box 2608, Southport BC Qld 4215
07 5503 1255

Logan House

75 Kirk Rd, Chambers Flat Qld 4133
1300 727 957

Mirikai

191 West Burleigh Rd
Burleigh Heads Qld 4220
07 5576 2512 or 1300 727 957

Salvation Army Gold Coast Recovery Services — Fairhaven

168 Macdonnell Rd
Eagle Heights Qld 4271
PO Box 482, Ashmore City Qld 4214
07 5604 7000 or 1300 111 827

WHOS Najara — Nambour

PO Box 5311
Sunshine Coast MC Qld 4560
07 5476 0877

Drug and alcohol counselling services

Alcohol and Other Drugs Service (AODS) — Logan

51 Wembley Rd, Logan Central Qld 4114
07 3489 2700

Biala City Community Health Centre

270 Roma St, Brisbane Qld 4001
07 3837 5633

Chermside Community Health Centre

490 Hamilton Rd, Chermside Qld 4032
07 3139 4633

Redcliffe Community Health Centre

181 Anzac Ave, Kippa-Ring Qld 4021
07 3897 6330

For referrals to your nearest counselling service, including access to naltrexone treatment, call the Alcohol and Drug Information Service on 1800 177 833 or visit adis.health.qld.gov.au

The alcohol and drug counsellor at your centre can also help with arranging drug and alcohol rehabilitation and counselling.

Who else can help?

Women on remand at a correctional centre in Queensland can get help with applying for bail from Sisters Inside. Sisters Inside accepts referrals from lawyers, support workers, or defendants themselves.

If you’re in custody and would like help from Sisters Inside, you can lodge a request form with your unit officer, or call Sisters Inside (freecall) on the Arunta phone system at the following times:

Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre

Monday 9am–4pm

Numinbah Correctional Centre

Thursday 12pm–4pm

Southern Queensland Correctional Centre

Wednesday 9am–4pm

Thursday 9am–12pm

Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre

Friday 9am–4pm

Legal words and phrases explained

Adjourn – this is when a bail application is put off until a future date. When bail applications are adjourned it is usually because the court needs more information.

Affidavit – this is a signed, written statement by a person involved in the case, stating what they know. It is sworn under oath (on the bible) or affirmed (see “Affirming”). The following is the standard legal oath on an affidavit. It is always the last paragraph of the affidavit:

The contents of this affidavit are true, except where they are stated on the basis of information and belief, in which case they are true to the best of my knowledge.

I understand that a person who provides a false matter in an affidavit commits an offence.

Affirming – stating that what you say or write is the truth. Used instead of “taking the oath” because your religion does not allow you to take an oath or you do not have a religion.

Application for bail – this is a document that tells the court you want to apply for bail.

Application number – the number given to your bail application by the Supreme Court when you file your application and supporting affidavit.

Bail – Bail is when the judge or police officer agrees to let you out of jail. You agree to come back to court and follow certain pages.

Breach – means to not follow an order.

Indictable offence – a more serious offence than a summary offence. The Magistrates Court hears some indictable offences, while others are dealt with by the District Court or Supreme Court.

Justice of the peace/commissioner for declarations/lawyer – one of these people must watch you sign your affidavit.

Oath/sworn – “Taking the oath” means swearing on the Bible that you will tell or have told the truth. If you do not believe in the Bible you can affirm the content of your affidavit is true.

Prosecutor – the lawyer who may tell the judge why you shouldn’t get bail.

Remand – the time spent in custody if you have been refused bail and are awaiting trial/sentence.

Committal/mention/hearing/summary/trial/sentencing/appeal – stages of the court process.

Surety – someone who gives an amount of money or pledges property to the court as a guarantee that you will follow your bail conditions. If you break your bail conditions or fail to appear in court, then the surety will lose the money they agree to pay.

Witness – a witness is a justice of the peace, commissioner for declarations or lawyer who must watch you sign your affidavit. Only these people can be your witnesses.

Last updated 11 December 2023