Parole Act 2002

Parole and other release from detention - Sentence calculation - Release dates

87: Release date of pre-cd sentence

You could also call this:

"When You Will Be Released from Prison"

When you have a short-term pre-cd sentence, your release date is the final release date of the sentence, which is determined under section 91 of the Criminal Justice Act 1985. You can find this information in the law to figure out when you will be released. Your release date is decided based on the type of sentence you have.

If you have a long-term determinate pre-cd sentence, your release date is usually three months before your sentence expiry date. This means you will be released three months before you have finished serving your sentence. The law says this is when you can be released.

But if your long-term determinate pre-cd sentence was given to you before 1 September 1993, which is when the Criminal Justice Amendment Act 1993 started, your release date is the final release date of the sentence, as determined under section 91 of the Criminal Justice Act 1985. This is because the law was different back then. You would follow the old rules to find out your release date.

If you have an indeterminate pre-cd sentence, you do not have a release date. This means you do not know when you will be released. The law says that for this type of sentence, there is no set release date.

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This page was last updated on 29 June 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM139340.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help

86: Release date of sentence, or

"When You Get Out of Prison Depends on Your Sentence"

88: Chief executive must determine key dates, etc, or

"The boss of the parole system works out important dates for offenders, like when they can get parole or be released."

Part 1Parole and other release from detention
Sentence calculation: Release dates

87Release date of pre-cd sentence

The release date of a short-term pre-cd sentence is the final release date of the sentence, as determined under section 91 of the Criminal Justice Act 1985.
The release date of a long-term determinate pre-cd sentence is the date that is 3 months before its sentence expiry date.
Despite subsection (2), the release date of a long-term determinate pre-cd sentence that was imposed before the commencement of the Criminal Justice Amendment Act 1993 (which was 1 September 1993) is the final release date of the sentence, as determined under section 91 of the Criminal Justice Act 1985.
An indeterminate pre-cd sentence has no release date.