Queensland Consolidated Acts

BAIL ACT 1980 - SECT 17

17 Enlargement of undertaking

(1) An undertaking may, with the consent of any person or persons offering to be surety or sureties, contain a provision for its enlargement without the further consent of the surety or sureties upon such adjournments of the criminal proceeding as are from time to time directed.

(1A) Subsection (1) does not prejudice in any way the right of a person offering to be surety to elect to be bound with respect to an undertaking that may be enlarged only with the person’s consent given at the time of the enlargement and the court shall not refuse to grant bail to a person by reason only that a person offering to be surety has so elected.

(2) Where a criminal proceeding is adjourned, the court may enlarge the undertaking of the defendant if the defendant is then on bail and, where there is a surety or are sureties to the undertaking, the court shall, unless the undertaking otherwise provides, obtain the consent of the surety or sureties to such enlargement and thereupon the defendant shall be bound to attend the court at the time and place or sittings to which the criminal proceeding has been adjourned and be bound by all other conditions imposed by the original undertaking without entering into a fresh undertaking and the surety or sureties shall be bound accordingly.

(3) An enlargement pursuant to subsection (2) may include a condition that the defendant surrender into custody at the date, time and place fixed for the trial or appeal.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (2) , the court may make such order as to bail and as to the commitment of the defendant to prison until bail is forthcoming as the court thinks fit.

(5) An undertaking may be enlarged pursuant to subsection (2) if any condition of the undertaking remains to be fulfilled notwithstanding that the defendant has surrendered into custody in compliance with the undertaking.

(6) An endorsement on the papers relating to the defendant to the effect that the defendant’s undertaking has been enlarged in accordance with subsection (2) and specifying the time and place or sittings at which the defendant is bound to attend the court and purporting to be signed by the judge or justices constituting the court or the proper officer thereof shall be evidence and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, conclusive evidence that the bail was so enlarged.

(7) Also, any record of an order of the court relating to the defendant, whether or not the record is signed, is evidence that the defendant’s bail was enlarged if—

(a) an indictment relating to the defendant has been presented to the court; and

(b) the record is to the effect that—

(i) the defendant’s undertaking has been enlarged under subsection (2) ; and

(ii) the defendant’s trial has been adjourned to a later sittings of a court to be held at a particular place.