The law in Victoria says that if a serious sex or serious violent offender is considered by the court to be an unacceptable risk to the community after they have completed their prison sentence, a supervision order can be used to reduce the risk of reoffending.
Offenders on supervision orders are supervised by Corrections Victoria (External link) after they are released from prison.
Courts make supervision orders
The Secretary of the Department of Justice and Community Safety can apply to the County Court or Supreme Court for a supervision order.
Supervision Orders:
- can be made for up to 15 years
- can be renewed for further periods of up to 15 years
- must be reviewed at least every three years by the court.
When a supervision order is made, the court sets rules (called conditions) that the offender must follow. These conditions can control things like:
- where the offender lives
- who the offender may contact
- activities the offender may participate in
- participation in treatment programs
- drug testing
- electronic monitoring.
The court sets these conditions to:
- reduce the risk of reoffending
- consider the concerns of the people affected by the offender’s crimes.
Victims of crime
The Victims Register (External link) is a service that can provide information about the offender to people affected by their crimes.
Supervision orders are not the same as parole
Supervision orders allow for continued supervision of the offender after they have served their prison sentence.
A prisoner on parole is still serving their prison sentence, even though they are living in the community. After they have served their prison sentence, they are no longer supervised by the Adult Parole Board.
What we do
We review and monitor the progress of offenders on supervision orders. We can review alleged breaches of conditions, and recommend that the Secretary of the Department of Justice and Community Safety:
- start legal proceedings against the offender, or
- apply for a review of the conditions of a supervision order.
If the court has allowed us to, we can also make decisions about where an offender lives.