Court Reports in New Zealand Explained

A psychological court report carries weight because it answers a statutory question with clinical evidence. New Zealand courts receive reports under distinct legislative frameworks — each with its own criteria, its own decision-maker, and its own standards — and a report that blurs those frameworks is a report counsel cannot rely on. This guide covers the three main frameworks: Section 38 fitness assessments under the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003, sentencing reports under the Sentencing Act 2002, and release reports under the Parole Act 2002. Precision AOD Solutions prepares sentencing and parole reports within these frameworks, written by psychologists registered with the New Zealand Psychologists Board alongside qualified AOD clinicians — but does not undertake Section 38 fitness assessments.

S38 Reports & Fitness to Stand Trial

Section 38 of the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003 allows a court to order an assessment when there is doubt about a defendant's fitness to stand trial or whether they were insane at the time of the offending. The resulting report helps the court determine how the prosecution should proceed.

An S38 assessment examines the defendant's capacity to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings, to plead, to instruct counsel, and to give and follow evidence — alongside mental state at the time of the alleged offending where the issue arises. A robust S38 report sets out the clinical findings against each element the court must consider, with the assessment conducted by a suitably qualified clinician — typically a psychiatrist or a psychologist registered with the New Zealand Psychologists Board — and documented so its conclusions can be transparently tested.

S38 referrals often intersect with alcohol and other drug factors — intoxication, withdrawal and substance-induced impairment all bear on capacity findings, and they are frequently the reason the question arises. That intersection is why S38 questions benefit from clinicians with combined AOD and forensic experience.

Pre-Sentence Reports

At sentencing, courts receive reports under the Sentencing Act 2002 framework. Pre-sentence reports set out offending-related factors, rehabilitation prospects and personal circumstances so the judge can impose a proportionate sentence informed by evidence.

Our pre-sentence work includes court-directed AOD assessments for sentencing, Section 27 cultural reports on background and systemic factors, and independent sentencing risk assessments where counsel needs clinical depth beyond a standard report. Each is written to the statutory criteria the judge must weigh, and delivered to the sentencing date.

Parole Board Reports & Release Evidence

Release decisions under the Parole Act 2002 turn on the undue-risk threshold. Our parole AOD reports document treatment progress and reintegration readiness, while Section 21 risk assessments address the safety-of-the-community test directly — and violence risk assessments provide the instrumented formulation where violence is in the history.

Other Court-Directed Reports

Not every report sits under the criminal framework. We also prepare psychological assessments for civil and tribunal matters where a decision-maker needs a clinical view framed by specific criteria — capacity, injury-related impairment, and assessment questions set by the instructing body. In every case the instruction defines the scope, and the report addresses the criteria stated in it. If you are unsure which framework your matter falls under, our instructing guide for counsel walks through how to frame the referral.

Turnaround & Instructing Counsel

Most court-directed reports are funded through Legal Aid. Funding is contingent on individual circumstances, and we cannot guarantee there will be no cost to the client, as Legal Aid can seek to recover costs in the future — but we facilitate applications end to end, and approval typically takes 3–4 weeks. From funding approval, assessment and report writing commonly takes 10–15 business days; for sentencing matters we recommend instructing 6–8 weeks before the hearing date.

An instruction should state the parties, the specific questions to be answered, the hearing date, and the documents provided. Our instructing guide sets out exactly what a letter of instruction should include, and our contact page takes new referrals directly.