This is a factual reference published by Precision AOD Solutions Ltd, a New Zealand provider of AOD assessments and forensic risk reports for sentencing and parole. It explains what s 21 actually requires, the reports the Board receives, where independent assessments fit, and how the Board's risk test works.

What Section 21 Requires

Section 21 sits in Part 2 of the Parole Act 2002 and states the Board's consideration duty. It is the reason every eligible prisoner comes before the Board — and the reason the assessment material at a hearing matters.

Parole Act 2002, s 21(1) and (2):

The Board must, as soon as practicable after the parole eligibility date of an offender who is detained in a prison, consider the offender for release on parole. (2) The Board must consider for parole every offender who is detained in a prison at least once in every 2 years after the offender's last parole hearing unless ... the offender has a new parole eligibility date that is more than 12 months after his or her last parole hearing ... or the offender is subject to a postponement order ... or the offender is detained following an application for a recall order, or under an interim or final recall order.

Two structural points follow for counsel. The consideration clock runs from the parole eligibility date, and the default rhythm is at least once every two years. Both can be displaced — by a new eligibility date, by a postponement order under s 27, or by a recall — which is why the assessment picture at the next hearing date matters so much.

The Reports the Board Receives

The Board's core hearing reports are supplied by the Department of Corrections under s 43 of the Act: sentencing notes, the pre-sentence report and a prison report, alongside the prisoner's custodial and treatment record. That material is institutional by design — it records custody behaviour, programme completion and the actuarial picture. It is not the only material the Board will receive: counsel can commission independent reports, and the Board may adjourn so further information can be obtained.

Parole Act 2002, s 7(3):

When any person is required under this Part to assess whether an offender poses an undue risk, the person must consider both— (a) the likelihood of further offending; and (b) the nature and seriousness of any likely subsequent offending.

That duty binds everyone who assesses undue risk under the Part — Corrections assessors and independent clinicians alike — and it is the statutory hook that makes relevant, current evidence about substance use, treatment and risk material to the Board's thinking at every hearing.

Independent AOD and Risk Assessments for Parole Hearings

Counsel can commission an independent AOD assessment or psychological risk assessment for a parole hearing — the same pathway as at sentencing, addressed to the parole question instead. The report typically evidences what the custodial record cannot: current substance-use status against treatment history, rehabilitative need that remains unmet, and a clinical risk formulation that goes beyond the actuarial score in the file. Where the Board needs that material before it can decide, it may adjourn the hearing under s 49A so the further information can be obtained.

Legal Aid funding can be sought for the assessment where the client is eligible — approval takes around three to four weeks and remains subject to the client's individual circumstances. Our parole risk assessments service and parole AOD reports pages set out the instructing detail and turnaround.

Why AOD Evidence Matters at Hearings

Substance use is the thread through most New Zealand custodial populations — two-thirds of prisoners have alcohol or other drug problems, by the sector's own reckoning — and it is squarely material to the Board's risk question. A prisoner whose AOD dependence was the engine of their offending needs the Board to see treatment engagement, abstinence evidence and relapse planning, not just the static history that produced the file score. An independent AOD report connects the treatment record to the risk analysis the Board must perform.

Decline, Specified Dates and Postponement

When the Board declines parole, s 21A requires it to specify the date by which the offender must be further considered — and where that date is more than 12 months out, it may specify the activities it expects to be completed by then. Separately, s 27 lets the Board postpone consideration outright, for indeterminate sentences or determinate sentences of 10 years or more, where no significant change in circumstances would make the offender suitable during the postponement window. The specified date must be within five years of the most recent hearing, and the offender can apply at any time on the grounds of significant change.

Parole Act 2002, s 21A:

When the Board declines to release an offender on parole, the Board in its decision— (a) must specify a date (the specified date) by which the offender must be further considered for parole; and (b) where the date specified in paragraph (a) is more than 12 months after the date of the current hearing, may specify the relevant activities (if any) that the Board expects will be completed by the specified date ...

Parole Act 2002, s 27(1) and (6):

The Board may make an order postponing consideration of an offender for parole if— (a) the offender is serving— (i) an indeterminate sentence; or (ii) a determinate sentence of 10 years or more; and (b) the Board is satisfied that, in the absence of a significant change in the offender's circumstances, the offender will not be suitable for release for the duration of the postponement order. ... An offender subject to a postponement order may at any time apply to the Board requesting consideration for parole on the grounds that there has been a significant change in his or her circumstances.

Both provisions reward evidence: completed treatment and a documented change in circumstances are exactly what moves an early referral under s 27(5) or an application under s 27(6).

The Undue-Risk Test

The Board may direct release only if satisfied on reasonable grounds that the offender, if released, will not pose an undue risk to the safety of the community or any person or class of persons during the term of the sentence — having regard to the support and supervision available following release, and the public interest in reintegration. The Act is explicit that parole is not an entitlement. The practical consequence: assessment evidence that speaks to support, supervision and reintegration speaks directly to the statutory test.

Parole Act 2002, s 28(2):

The Board may give a direction under subsection (1) only if it is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the offender, if released on parole, will not pose an undue risk to the safety of the community or any person or class of persons within the term of the sentence, having regard to— (a) the support and supervision available to the offender following release; and (b) the public interest in the reintegration of the offender into society as a law-abiding citizen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who provides a section 21 parole risk assessment for the NZ Parole Board?

Section 21 is the Board's duty to consider parole, not a named report. The core hearing reports come from the Department of Corrections under s 43. Independent AOD and psychological risk assessments are prepared by registered clinicians instructed by counsel, and the Board may adjourn under s 49A to obtain them. Both evidence streams reach the same hearing.

What reports does the Parole Board receive under section 43?

Corrections supplies the Board's core material: sentencing notes, the pre-sentence report and a prison report, together with the custodial and treatment record. Counsel can add independent assessments — AOD, psychological and risk — which the Board receives alongside the institutional material at the s 21 hearing.

Can counsel commission an independent risk assessment for a parole hearing?

Yes. The pathway is the same as at sentencing: a letter of instruction naming the questions, the hearing date and the records; assessment by a registered clinician; a court- and Board-ready report. Where the Board needs the material before deciding, it can adjourn under s 49A. Legal Aid funding is sought where the client is eligible.

What is the undue-risk test for parole?

Under s 28(2), the Board may direct release only if satisfied on reasonable grounds the offender will not pose an undue risk to the safety of the community or any person or class of persons within the term of the sentence, having regard to the support and supervision available after release and the public interest in reintegration. Parole is not an entitlement under the Act.

When can the Board postpone parole consideration?

Under s 27, only for offenders serving an indeterminate sentence or a determinate sentence of 10 years or more, and only where the Board is satisfied that, absent a significant change in circumstances, the offender will not be suitable for release during the postponement period. The specified date must be within five years, and the offender may apply at any time on the grounds of significant change.

Instructing an Independent Parole Assessment

Precision AOD Solutions Ltd prepares independent AOD assessments and parole risk assessments for hearings across New Zealand. Contact us with the hearing date and the questions the report must answer, and we will confirm scope, turnaround and funding pathway the same day. For sentencing-stage reports, see our pre-sentence reports reference and the statutory reference matrix; for the instruments behind the file score, see our RoC*RoI explainer.