Home Detention in New Zealand

What is Home Detention?

A sentence of Home Detention requires an offender to remain at an approved residence under electronic monitoring, usually by way of an ankle bracelet, rather than serve their sentence in prison. It is, in effect, a strict curfew: the offender must remain at the approved address at all times, except in limited circumstances such as attending work, medical treatment, or other purposes specifically approved in advance.

Home Detention is often described as the second most restrictive sentence available to the courts, after imprisonment itself.

A sentence of Home Detention can be for a period of between 14 days and 12 months.

Am I eligible for Home Detention?

Many people will wonder whether they are eligible for Home Detention at their sentencing. In New Zealand there are specific rules that limit the grant of Home Detention.

Home Detention can only be considered where the Court would otherwise have imposed a short-term sentence of imprisonment, which the Sentencing Act 2002 defines as a sentence of two years (24 months) or less.

If you are to receive an end sentence of above 24 months’ imprisonment, you are not eligible for Home Detention, and the Court has no discretion to impose it, however strong the case in your favour might otherwise be.

If you are to receive an end sentence of below 24 months’ imprisonment, then you are eligible to be considered for Home Detention, but it remains a discretionary matter for the sentencing Judge, based on several factors.

The two key requirements

A suitable address. You must have an address that is suitable for Home Detention. This is not simply a matter of nominating your home address — it is assessed and determined in advance by the Department of Corrections, who prepare a report for the Court. Among other things, Corrections will consider whether the address is one where electronic monitoring can practically be carried out, whether other occupants of the address consent to the arrangement, and whether the residence is otherwise appropriate having regard to the offending (for example, in cases involving family violence or offending against children).

The Judge’s assessment of the case. Even where a suitable address is available, the sentencing Judge must still weigh up all factors for and against the grant of Home Detention in your particular case. This is not a formality — it involves a genuine assessment of whether Home Detention is the appropriate response, having regard to the purposes and principles of sentencing, the seriousness of the offending, and the circumstances of the offender.

What factors does the Judge consider?

The factors a Judge will weigh include, among others:

• The nature and seriousness of the offending, and whether the offending involved violence, victims in the community, or an ongoing risk to others;
• Your previous criminal history, if any, and whether you have previously breached Court orders or sentences;
• Your personal circumstances, including employment, family responsibilities, and rehabilitative prospects;
• Whether Home Detention would adequately reflect the seriousness of the offending and hold you accountable, when weighed against the alternative of imprisonment; and
• Any relevant reports before the Court, such as a pre-sentence report or restorative justice outcomes.

Home Detention is fact-specific

If, for example, you have several previous convictions and have demonstrated non-compliance with Court orders in the past, you are less likely to receive Home Detention. If you have no previous convictions, you will likely have a stronger argument in support of Home Detention.

Whether Home Detention is available, and whether it will actually be granted, depends heavily on the individual facts of your case. Two people convicted of similar offences can receive very different outcomes at sentencing, depending on their personal circumstances, their history, and how the case is presented to the Court.

Because Home Detention is assessed at the point of sentencing, early preparation matters. This can include obtaining a suitable address well in advance, gathering supporting material such as references or evidence of rehabilitation, and ensuring the case for Home Detention is properly put to the Court.