Release

What this actually means

Families hear a date early and treat it as fixed. It is not. Offence type, SDS40 eligibility, HDC and behaviour all move it.

Use a calculator to get oriented. Then treat the prison’s figure as the only operational date.

The useful work before release is practical: ID, an address, a phone, a bank account. The date is the last thing, not the first.

How release dates are set

• For many standard determinate sentences, automatic release is at the halfway point — then licence until the end of the sentence.
• Some sentences now release at 40% (SDS40). Some serious offences release at two-thirds.
• Time spent on remand usually counts towards the sentence.
• Home Detention Curfew (tag) can bring some people out earlier. It is not automatic.
• Only the prison / offender manager can confirm the actual date. Calculators are estimates.