South Australian Statutes Amendment (Arrest Procedures and Bail) Bill 2013

South Australia has recently introduced the Statutes Amendment (Arrest Procedures and Bail) Bill 2013 to their Legislative Assembly.

The Bill, when enacted, will amend the Bail Act 1985 and the Summary Offences Act 1953 to achieve greater efficiencies in the bail process and to provide clarity to certain ambiguities in the Bail Act which have caused variations in court practices.

The act firstly sets out to repeal and replace the current section 13 in the Bail Act. The new section will clarify what it means to be brought before the Youth Court or the Magistrate Court as required under the section. The section will also provide for a better understanding of the duties of a police officer on arresting a person eligible to apply for bail and the rights of the arrested person. The act also substitutes the existing section 15 with a section that clarifies the scheme for a review by telephone by a magistrate of the decision of a bail authority.

The Act also substitutes section 16 to provide that if a person is to be released on bail but there is an immediate indication by a police officer or counsel that an application for review of the decision will be made, then the release must be deferred. 

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