What Is The Process Of Bail In WA? How To Apply For Bail In WA?

In Western Australia, granting bail refers to an individual who has been charged with an offence being released from custody and into the community. This is when the matter moves through the Australian justice system. If the court refuses bail, the charged individual will be remanded in custody till the matter is finished or another bail application made to the court is successful.

Any application for bail needs to be treated seriously, which is why seeking legal advice and representation from top lawyers is important.

What Are The Things That The Court Considers In A Bail Application?

Some of the matters that can be considered by the court when deciding on whether to grant bail or not are as follows:

• The seriousness and nature of the charge before the court.
• The criminal record of the accused and if they have breached bail in the past.
• The power and strength of the prosecution case against the accused.
• Any perceived risk that the accused might offend while on bail and whether the conditions can be imposed to lessen the perceived risk.
• Any perceived risk that the accused might fail to appear at court as per the bail undertaking and if there are conditions that can be imposed to reduce the perceived risk.
• Any perceived risk that the accused might endanger the safety of any individual or property and if there are conditions that can be imposed to lessen that perceived risk.
• Any perceived risk that the accused might interfere with witnesses to the case and if there are conditions that might be imposed to reduce that risk.
• If the accused needs to be held in custody for their own protection.

What Is A Bail Undertaking?

An accused individual who is granted bail needs to enter into a bail undertaking. A bail undertaking is a legally binding and written undertaking to comply with the conditions attached to the bail undertaking and to attend the court at the relevant time and date.

What Are Some Conditions That Can Be Attached To A Bail Undertaking?

At times, the court attaches a relevant conditional monetary amount to a bail undertaking. This is to ensure that if the bailed individual does not attend the court as required, they will not only be charged with an offence of breaching bail, but they also need to forfeit the specified money.

There is often a surety condition in any bail undertaking, and this is a legally binding written promise by a third party to give up a specified sum of money if the bailed individual does not attend court as needed. Before opting for a bail application procedure, you must know some important things.

A surety must provide photo identification and other forms of proof that they have the required assets to guarantee the surety undertaking amount. The identity proof can be in the form of a home loan document, bank statement, vehicle registration papers or other things.

Some of the conditions that might be attached to a bail undertaking if the circumstances of the accused and the seriousness of the offence need it. The conditions are as follows:

• To live at a certain residential address.
• To attend a local police station to report the requirements, usually one or two days per week.
• To surrender all passports.
• To not be allowed to leave Western Australia or go to any nearby place of international departures such as a seaport or an airport.
• A night-time curfew
• Protective conditions that can prohibit the accused from contacting the person who made the complaint, witnesses or other co-accused
• To attend counselling programs for behavioural issues.
• To opt for a medical or psychiatric examination.
• Any form of residential treatment for drug or alcohol abuse
• To be in home detention.
• Wear an approved electronic monitoring device.
• To follow all the reasonable directions of a community corrections officer.
• Not to have any form of unsupervised contact with children.
• To not use the internet other than to check court appearances, personal banking or communicate with criminal defence lawyers for legal aid.

When Will The Bail Stop Continuing?

A bail undertaking will continue until the matter is finalized. If the accused individual’s matters are finalized, and a penalty is imposed, the bail undertaking will not continue any further.

What Are The Protective Bail Conditions?

Protective bail conditions can be put in place to not allow the accused to contact specific people directly or indirectly. It can help to prohibit the accused person from going to a specific distance in relevant places or areas. Breaching the bail condition can be a serious offence, and the consequences can result in the bail being revoked again, and the accused person will keep staying in custody.

Bail Where An Accused Has Been Charged In A Domestic Violence Case

When a person is charged in cases related to domestic violence, the court might order a risk assessment report before granting the accused bail. The department of community often compiles the report, which involves speaking with the complainant about their attitude or offending towards the grant of the bail.

The bail will likely include a history of domestic violence or other types of offending violence. The report can help make a recommendation to the court regarding if the bail can be granted. The court can also decide on any protective bail conditions to be put in place to be sure about the safety of the complainant.

Applying For Bail In Court

When a defendant makes a bail application, the court can decide to either grant, refuse or dispense the bail. There are relevant factors that the court will consider in case of a bail application. The factors are as follows:

• Failure to attend the court about the bail that was undertaken.
• To commit any criminal offence.
• Interfering With witnesses.
• Obstructing the course of justice.

Associate With Criminal Defense Lawyers Perth WA

If you or any individual in your family has been charged with any criminal offence and want to apply for bail, you will need legal aid. Contact Criminal defence lawyers Perth WA to hire the best lawyers to help you get bail for yourself or another person.