Queensland Consolidated Acts

BAIL ACT 1980 - SECT 21

21 Sureties

(1) Every surety to an undertaking must be a person who—

(a) has attained the age of 18 years; and

(b) has not been convicted of an indictable offence; and

(c) is not—

(i) an involuntary patient under the Mental Health Act 2016 who is, or is liable to be, detained in an authorised mental health service under that Act; or

(ii) a forensic disability client within the meaning of the Forensic Disability Act 2011 ; or

(iii) a person for whom a guardian or administrator has been appointed under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 ; and

(d) is not an insolvent under administration; and

(e) has not been, and is not likely to be, charged—

(i) with the same offence; or

(ii) with another offence as a consequence of the commission of the offence;

with which the defendant has been charged; and

(f) is worth not less than the amount of bail in real or personal property.

(2) A person who enters into an undertaking as a surety becomes bound, upon its forfeiture, to pay to Her Majesty the sum of money set forth in the undertaking with respect to that surety.

(3) Where a defendant is required to provide any surety or sureties, regard shall be had in considering the suitability of a person as a surety, in addition to other relevant matters, to the following—

(a) the person’s financial resources;

(b) the person’s character and antecedents;

(c) the person’s proximity to the defendant (whether by kinship, place of residence or otherwise).

(4) Before accepting a person as a surety, a justice shall satisfy himself or herself as to the sufficiency of the means of the person and shall require that person to make before the justice an affidavit of justification in the approved form.

(5) A justice before whom an affidavit of justification is sworn shall ask the proposed surety all questions that are required by any Act or law to be asked in the circumstances or that appear to the justice to be necessary.

(6) A surety, in order to satisfy the sufficiency of his or her means, may deposit in the office of the proper officer of the court that granted bail to the defendant or of some other court or with the chief executive (corrective services) the amount of his or her surety in money and where the undertaking is subsequently forfeited, the court shall apply the amount so deposited towards satisfaction of the surety’s obligation with respect thereto.

(6A) Where a surety, in order to satisfy the sufficiency of his or her means, produces to a justice before whom the surety makes an affidavit of justification—

(a) any property; or

(b) any document to satisfy the justice that the surety owns or has an interest in any real or personal property;

the justice shall record on the affidavit details of the property or document and return the property or document to the surety.

(7) A court to which it is made to appear that a surety required to be provided by an undertaking has sworn an affidavit of justification that is false in a material particular may revoke the bail and issue a warrant for the apprehension of the defendant concerned.

(8) A person shall not be accepted as a surety if it appears to the justice before whom the affidavit of justification of that person is sworn that it would be ruinous or injurious to the person or the person’s family if the undertaking were forfeited.