July 2025

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Legal Corner

Legal Q&A – Is It Mandatory to Do Courses at Minimum Level Security to Get Parole?

By

John

John writes from Lindisfarne, Tasmania.

Ethan Cassidy

To About Time,

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Is it mandatory to be at minimum security to get parole? A lot of courses are only offered when at minimum and then courses can take six months to complete. I am currently appealing my sentence, but that means I cannot move to a lower security rating. Would I be forced to drop my appeal just to get to minimum security? Is this fair? My parole is due November 12 but I can’t see how I can get it.

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Response from About Time:

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Completion of courses and parole

Once someone at prison becomes eligible for parole (which is usually, but not always, after you have served either half of your sentence or at least 6 months of your sentence), then a decision can be made about parole. This is a decision made by the Parole Board.

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To make their decision, the Parole Board will get reports from the prison (for example, about any issues with behaviour). They might also get reports from a medical professional such as a psychiatrist.

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The Parole Board must consider several things when they are making their decision – this includes whether it is likely the person will re-offend, any efforts the person has made to engage in rehabilitation (which could include any courses the person has completed in prison), and their plans for post-release (which might include housing or employment). So while the Parole Board will take into account whether a person has completed courses, it’s not the only thing they will look at to make a decision about parole.

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To get more information or advice about parole, you can speak to the Prisoners’ Legal Service – contact them via mail at:

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132-146 Elizabeth Street

HOBART TAS, 7000

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or by email at:

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prisonerslegalservicetas@gmail.com

Date Published

July 2, 2025

This

article

was originally printed in the

edition of About Time.

•

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Legal Corner

Legal Q&A – Is It Mandatory to Do Courses at Minimum Level Security to Get Parole?

By

John

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