Report finds Adrian Bayley's parole should have been cancelled after he pleaded guilty to an attack on a man in Geelong

THE Parole Board should have cancelled Adrian Bayley's parole after he pleaded guilty to attacking a man outside a Geelong nightclub months before he killed Jill Meagher.

Adrian Bayley arrives at the Supreme Court in Melbourne to be sentenced for the murder and rape of Jill Meagher.

THE Adult Parole Board should have cancelled Adrian Bayley's parole after he pleaded guilty to attacking a man outside a Geelong nightclub months before he killed Jill Meagher, a government report has found.

The Napthine Government yesterday released the long-awaited review into Victoria's parole system by former High Court judge Ian Callinan, announcing that "community safety" would be enshrined in law as the board's highest priority.

Premier Denis Napthine said the board's emphasis had been misguided and wrong.

"The consequences have been totally and utterly unacceptable," he said.

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"That will change, that will change from today."

Dr Napthine said a number of the 23 recommendations would be adopted "swiftly". Victims and their families will be given greater notice of offenders' release, even if that means the prisoner's release is delayed.

Serving police members will be put in the parole board's office, and board members will have term limits of six to nine years. And the parole board will have to report on homicides and other serious offences committed by parolees.

A taskforce chaired by the Premier will consider some of the more detailed recommendations which have been welcomed by victims of crime.

Gilly Corp, whose daughter Elsa was killed by a violent parolee while on a blind date in 2010, successfully campaigned for changes to parole laws this year, dubbed Elsa's Law. She said the report showed the Government was finally listening.

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"The main thing is that the report is fairly damning. A lot of us have said the culture was very bad, and it was."

But Ms Corp said she would have liked a recommendation that prison staff and police who had regular dealings with the offender play a bigger role in helping the board decide whether someone was suitable for parole.

The report which calls for sweeping changes to parole in Victoria found that the Adult Parole Board file on Bayley, who killed Ms Meagher last year while on parole for rape, was "ill organised and did not contain a complete rundown of his criminal history".

Mr Callinan found that the parole board had "both the cause and opportunity to cancel Bayley's parole" after he attacked a man in Geelong in 2011.

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Under-resourcing meant the board's workload was "intolerable heavy", the report found.

It called for an overhaul of the board's administration, including the introduction of an electronic database to manage prisoners' files.

Mr Callinan found the board should employ a full-time chair, preferably a retired Supreme or County Court judge, and members' terms of service should be limited.

He also recommended giving victims a chance to have their voices heard in the release of dangerous criminals.

"There ought to be greater attention given to the views and interests of victims," he said.

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Victim impact statements from Jill's family

People on the Victims' Register should be given "timely notice of an offender's sentence, the possibility for an offender's parole and any likely conditions of it in order to enable victims to make submissions and such arrangements as they wish to make if parole were to be granted". He also encouraged the board to "to err on the side of conservatism in granting parole."

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews welcomed the release of the report but said he was concerned about the budget restraints of the parole board.

Earlier, Dr Napthine said resources for the parole board had increased each year.

In a statement released by its general manager, David Provan, the Adult Parole Board said it "stands ready to assist the Government with further improvements to the parole system" and "looks forward to working with the State Government to implement changes to the parole system following the Callinan Report".

It also endorsed the Callinan Report's findings that it had been "under resourced".