Community Correction Orders
Community Correction Orders are sentences that require you to not commit any further offences for a period of time. If you commit further offences during the period of the Community Correction Order you can be resentenced for the offence to which the Community Correction Order related. You may also receive a harsher penalty than was originally imposed.
A Community Correction Order has conditions attached to it. If conditions are not complied with it can also lead to the Community Correction Order being revoked and you being resentenced.
Community Correction Orders can be imposed for a period of up to three years.
All Community Correction Orders involve a conviction being recorded.
Below is information about Community Correction Orders. If you need representation or criminal law advice, make a website enquiry or call our free 24/7 criminal law hotline on 8815 8167.
Conditions of Community Correction Orders
The standard conditions of a Community Correction Orders order are the following:
- A condition that you must not commit any offence,
- A condition that you must appear before the court if called on to do so at any time during the term of the community correction order.
Added conditions that are available to be imposed on you are the following:
- A supervision condition requiring you to submit to supervision:
- A community service work condition requiring the performance of community service work for a specified number of hours (not exceeding 500 hours),
- A curfew condition imposing a specified curfew (not exceeding 12 hours in any period of 24 hours).
- A rehabilitation or treatment condition requiring you to participate in a rehabilitation program or to receive treatment,
- An abstention condition requiring abstention from alcohol or drugs or both.
- A non-association condition prohibiting association with particular persons.
- A place restriction condition prohibiting the frequenting of or visits to a particular place or area.
The following are the maximum number of hours for community service work when it is a condition of a CCO:
- 100 hours — for offences with a maximum penalty of up to six months imprisonment,
- 200 hours — for offences with a maximum penalty of between six months and 12 months imprisonment,
- 500 hours — for offences with a maximum penalty of more than 12 months imprisonment.
The minimum period a community service work condition is in force is associated with the specified hours. Those periods are as follows:
- Six months— for up to 100 hours,
- 12 months — for hours exceeding 100 hours but not exceeding 300 hours,
- 18 months — for hours exceeding 300 hours but not exceeding 500 hours.
The following conditions cannot be included in a Community Correction Order:
- Home detention,
- Electronic monitoring, or
- Curfew of more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period.
Can I change the conditions of a Community Correction Order?
You or a community corrections officer can also apply to the court to add, vary or revoke the conditions. The Judge or Magistrate who hears the application for the conditions to be added, varied or revoked can refuse the application if it doesn’t have any merit to it.
What happens if I breach a Community Correction Order?
You will be in breach of a Community Correction Order if you commit a criminal offence while on the Community Correction Order. Or, if you do not comply with its conditions.
In dealing with the breach, the Court can make one of the following decisions:
- Take no action on the breach; or
- Vary or revoke any of the added conditions, or impose further additional conditions; or
Revoke the order and resentence the offender.
Contact Australian Criminal Law Group
Sydney criminal lawyers with a proven track record getting the best results for their clients including Community Correction Orders. Australian Criminal Law Group has offices in Sydney, Parramatta and Blacktown but our criminal lawyers also appear in all courts across the greater Sydney area.
Get in touch for your first free consultation today on (02) 8815 8167, send us an email to info@aclawgroup.com.au or send us a website enquiry.