If you or a family member has been arrested or remanded in custody, get advice today. Urgent: 0400 284 230.
Our expertise in bail matters includes (but is not limited to)
- Bail applications and variations
- Supreme Court bail appeals
- Sentence appeals
- Conviction appeals
- Applications for early release
Being refused bail or receiving an unjust decision can leave you or your loved one in custody unnecessarily. At Hubber Legal, we move fast to prepare persuasive bail applications and appeals designed to restore your freedom.
We understand the importance of addressing the court's concerns, such as flight risk, re-offending, or interference with witnesses. Our team drafts strong affidavits, gathers supporting material, and advocates forcefully to show why bail should be granted.
If you have already been sentenced or convicted, we also handle appeals to higher courts. We review transcripts, identify legal or factual errors, and prepare comprehensive submissions seeking to overturn wrongful outcomes.
Why the first application matters most
A bail application is not something you get unlimited attempts at. Once bail has been refused, a further application generally requires new material or a change in circumstances. You cannot simply run the same argument again in front of a different judge.
That makes preparation critical. An application put together properly the first time, with confirmed accommodation, a considered set of proposed conditions and people prepared to support it, has a far better prospect than one made quickly because everyone wanted something to happen that day.
What the court is weighing
Broadly, the court is assessing the risk that the person will fail to appear, commit further offences, interfere with witnesses or evidence, or be at risk themselves. It weighs those risks against the presumption in favour of liberty and the fact that the person has not been convicted of anything.
For some offences the starting position is reversed, and the applicant has to show why bail should be granted rather than the prosecution showing why it should not.
What families and supporters can do
This is the part most people do not realise they can help with, and it is often decisive.
Accommodation. Where will the person live? A confirmed address away from any alleged complainant, with someone prepared to say in writing that they can stay there, is one of the most useful things you can provide.
Sureties. Someone prepared to commit money that is forfeited if the person fails to appear.
Employment. A letter confirming a job is available carries real weight.
Treatment and support. A confirmed place in a rehabilitation program, a counselling appointment, or engagement with a support service.
Practical conditions. Curfews, reporting, non-association, non-contact, electronic monitoring, sureties. A realistic package of conditions that addresses the specific risk the prosecution raises is more persuasive than an assurance that everything will be fine.
We will tell you exactly what to gather and, where it helps, speak to the people providing it.
Darwin custody conditions
Territory prisons and watch houses have been under sustained pressure, with lawyers repeatedly raising conditions in court, and people can spend extended periods on remand before their matter is resolved.
The practical effect is that time on remand is not a neutral holding period. It has real consequences for a person's health, their employment, their housing and their family, and those consequences are properly part of a bail application.
Where applications are made
Bail can be considered by police, in the Local Court, and in the Supreme Court. Where the Local Court refuses bail, an application can be made to the Supreme Court.