Parole board tells Cairns lawyers new applications unlikely to be processed for months

A backlog at the state’s Parole Board is keeping prisoners locked up for longer, with criminal lawyers being told new applications are unlikely to be considered for at least two months.

Prisoners may be waiting longer for parole, with Cairns lawyers told a backlog means applications won’t be processed before July.

Prisoners may spend longer inside as a backlog at Parole Board Queensland has been revealed for delays in the processing of parole applications.

During recent sentencing hearings before Cairns judges and magistrates, criminal defence lawyers have shared a letter from the new head of the Parole Board Queensland, Michael Woodford, in which he states that new applications are unlikely to be considered before July because of “resourcing” issues.

The courts were also told that more than one-third of applications were not currently being processed within the prescribed time of 120-150 days.

About 65 per cent of applications are processed within the time and 35 per cent outside the time, the court was told.

A letter from the head of the Parole Board Queensland about a backlog has been tendered in court sentencing submissions.

During the sentencing of a Cairns man for breaching domestic violence orders, parts of Mr Woodford’s letter were read to the court, which showed that even an immediate parole eligibility date might not provide certainty that a prisoner will get parole.

“Parole applications received today will not be able to be considered by the board until approximately July 2025 … I’m also exploring options to have prisoners with immediate parole eligibility date processed as soon as possible,” the letter states.

Judges and magistrates generally set a parole release date or a parole eligibility date when they sentence someone to imprisonment, allowing the prisoner to serve some of their sentence under supervision in the community.

One of the key conditions is that they do not commit further offences.

A Parole Board Queensland spokeswoman said the appointment of Mr Woodford as new parole board president in February had provided an “opportunity to review and refresh” the board.

“The Parole Board Queensland continues to address high numbers of parole applications and a backlog,” she said.

A Parole Board Queensland spokeswoman said the board continued to address high numbers of parole applications and a backlog.

A spokeswoman for Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support and Minister for Corrective Services, Laura Gerber, blamed the previous government for the issues.

“After a decade of severe mismanagement and instability under the former Labor government, the parole board was left without the leadership and laws needed to protect the community,” Ms Gerber said.

“The Crisafulli government has started to clean up Labor’s mess by appointing a new president to the parole board to restore stability, integrity and accountability and to deliver the resources needed to ensure the effective operation of the board and our corrections system.”

Shadow Police Minister and Corrective Services Minister Glenn Butcher said the situation was an “unintended consequence” of the new government’s “signature” laws, saying delays in processing parole applications would have a flow-on effect on the number of prisoners housed in watchhouses and correctional facilities.

 “Experts warned David Crisafulli that there would be unintended consequences when he rushed through his signature laws. Processing parole and prison capacity issues were just two of many concerns raised by those experts.” Mr Butcher said.

“There were also concerns raised about the need for the Cairns Watchhouse to be upgraded before the laws were introduced.

“David Crisafulli needs to act swiftly to fix this backlog that he has caused.”

Shadow Minister for Police and Corrective Services says Cairns Watchhouse needs to be upgraded.

A spokeswoman for Queensland Corrective Services said officers were working closely with the Queensland Police Service and other agencies to “progress suitable prisoners to low security and boosting officer numbers through increased recruitment”.

“We will also continue to work closely with Queensland Police Service to co-ordinate the transfer of eligible adult prisoners from watchhouses to prisons,” she said.

“Under legislation, QCS has 21 days to receive prisoners from watchhouses.

“The vast majority are received into a correctional centre within seven days.”

Originally published as Parole board tells Cairns lawyers new applications unlikely to be processed for months