Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

Provisions relating to the carrying out of punishments - Imprisonment and detention

177A: Effect of period spent in custody before being sentenced

You could also call this:

"Time spent in custody before sentencing counts as part of your sentence"

Illustration for Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

When you are waiting for your sentence, you are held in custody. You will be treated as if you are already serving your sentence during this time. This is because of what the Court Martial says under section 81A or what a disciplinary officer says under section 117Y. This rule does not change what section 177 or section 179 say. You will still have to follow those rules. They are separate from this one. You need to know that these rules are about how long you have to stay in custody. They help decide when you can be released. This is an important part of the law.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM403849.

This page was last updated on 1 January 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Police and safety

177: Commencement of sentences, or

"When your prison sentence starts"

178: Consecutive sentences, or

"What happens when you get a new sentence while already serving one"

Part 9Provisions relating to the carrying out of punishments
Imprisonment and detention

177AEffect of period spent in custody before being sentenced

For the purpose of determining the date on which an offender will become eligible for remission of sentence, the offender shall be deemed to have been serving the sentence during the whole of any period that the offender was held in custody, as is required to be specified on the committal order by the Court Martial under section 81A or by a disciplinary officer under section 117Y.
Nothing in this section shall limit or affect the provisions of section 177 or section 179.

Notes

Section 177A: inserted, on 27 May 1988, by section 19(1) of the Armed Forces Discipline Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 89).
Section 177A heading: amended, on 27 September 2001, by section 7(1) of the Armed Forces Discipline Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 55).
Section 177A(1): amended, on 1 July 2009, by section 52 of the Armed Forces Discipline Amendment Act (No 2) 2007 (2007 No 98).
Section 177A(1): amended, on 27 September 2001, by section 7(2) of the Armed Forces Discipline Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 55).