Life means life: life sentences and redetermination in NSW
On 15 September 2026 the NSW Government introduced the Justice Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill (No 2) 2026. One part of it is labelled "life means life". It is meant to put beyond doubt that a person given a life sentence in NSW since the 1990 truth in sentencing reforms can never be released and can never have that sentence reopened. This note sets out what a life sentence already means in this State, the redetermination scheme the change is aimed at, and what would be different.
What does a life sentence mean in NSW?
A life sentence in NSW means prison for the rest of the person's life. Section 19A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) says that a person sentenced to imprisonment for life for murder is to serve that sentence for the term of the person's natural life. There is no release date and no non-parole period. The person stays in custody until they die, unless the Governor exercises the prerogative of mercy.
This was not always the effect of the words. For most of the last century a life sentence was indeterminate. The prisoner could be released on licence by the executive, and in practice many were. The change came with the truth in sentencing reforms of 1989 and 1990, which made the natural life sentence mean what it says. The reforms followed public concern that the average prisoner sentenced to life was serving around 13 years before release. Murder itself is explained in the note on murder and manslaughter offences in NSW.
When must a NSW court impose a life sentence?
Life imprisonment is the maximum penalty for murder, but a maximum is not a starting point. Section 21 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) lets a court impose a lesser sentence than the maximum, and most murder sentences are long fixed terms rather than life. A life sentence is reserved for the worst cases.
Section 61 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) sets the test. A court must impose a life sentence for murder where the level of culpability in the offence is so extreme that the community interest in retribution, punishment, community protection and deterrence can only be met by a sentence for the person's natural life. The same section applies to certain very serious drug offences. When that test is met, the court has no discretion to go lower, and it does not set a non-parole period. The High Court considered the reach of these life sentence provisions in Baker v The Queen and in Crump v New South Wales, both available on JADE.
Can you get parole on a life sentence in NSW?
No. A natural life sentence has no non-parole period, so there is nothing for the State Parole Authority to work from. The Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 (NSW) does not allow the Authority to release a person serving a life sentence. Parole is only available where a court has set a non-parole period at the end of which release can be considered, and a life sentence has none.
The one path that remains is the prerogative of mercy, exercised by the Governor on the advice of the government. It is used rarely, and usually only on compassionate grounds such as terminal illness or imminent death. It is not a review of the sentence and it is not a right. For sentences that do carry a non-parole period, the ordinary rules are set out in the note on parole and non-parole periods in NSW and the ACT.
How is a life sentence different from a standard non-parole period?
People often confuse the two. A standard non-parole period is a reference point for a judge who is imposing a fixed term. For murder committed on or after 1 February 2003 the standard non-parole period is 20 years, or 25 years where the victim is a child under 18 or a public official such as a police officer. That figure guides the minimum time a person serves before becoming eligible to apply for parole on a determinate sentence.
A life sentence is a different thing. It has no non-parole period at all, standard or otherwise. So a 20 year standard non-parole period is not a cap on a murder sentence and it is not what a life sentence delivers. Where the section 61 test is met the sentence is natural life, and the standard non-parole period never enters the picture. How a non-parole period is set on a fixed sentence, and when it can be shortened, is covered in the notes on special circumstances and the non-parole period and the totality principle and aggregate sentences.
What was life sentence redetermination in NSW?
Redetermination is a scheme for the old, indeterminate life sentences. Because a life sentence imposed before truth in sentencing had no fixed minimum, Parliament gave those prisoners a way to ask a court to fix one. A prisoner serving an existing life sentence could apply to the Supreme Court to have the sentence redetermined. If the application succeeded, the court set a minimum term and an additional term, and the person then became eligible to be considered for parole once the minimum term was served.
The scheme began with section 13A of the old Sentencing Act 1989 (NSW) and was carried into Schedule 1 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW). It was never open to natural life sentences imposed after the reforms. It applied only to the shrinking group of prisoners sentenced under the earlier law.
Even within that group, Parliament acted to stop redetermination for prisoners a court had recommended never be released. The validity of those restrictions was tested and upheld in the High Court in Baker v The Queen, and the parole limits on redetermined life sentences were considered in Crump v New South Wales, both on JADE.
What does the "life means life" change in the 2026 Bill do?
The Justice Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill (No 2) 2026 (NSW) does two things on this point. First, it would state in plain terms that offenders sentenced to life imprisonment since the 1990 truth in sentencing reforms can never be released and can never have their sentences redetermined. That confirms the position that already applies to natural life sentences, and removes any argument to the contrary.
Second, it would close a review pathway for the oldest and most serious cases. Some of the State's worst murderers were sentenced with a judicial recommendation that they never be released. The Bill would stop those offenders applying for a review of their sentence under the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW). The stated aim is that a court's decision that a person never be released is enforced as made, rather than reopened years later. The text of the Bill and its progress can be followed on the NSW legislation register.
What else is in the 2026 Bill?
The "life means life" clauses sit inside a wider Bill. It also proposes changes to sexual assault trials, including wider availability of alternative verdicts for offences against children, young people in care and people with a cognitive impairment, and extended protections for child complainants giving evidence. Those changes pick up a recommendation from the NSW Law Reform Commission's report on consent, and connect to the ground covered in the note on sexual assault offences in NSW.
The Bill would also require a court, when deciding bail, to consider whether a residential rehabilitation facility can properly supervise the person, and it would extend the preventative detention powers in the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002 (NSW) for a further three years before those powers were due to lapse. These are separate reforms with their own detail. The life sentence clauses are the part most likely to affect how the worst homicide cases end.
What this means if you are facing a serious charge.
A life sentence is not the ordinary outcome of a murder charge. It is the top of the range, reserved for offending of extreme culpability, and it is fixed by the section 61 test rather than chosen at large. Most people charged with murder who are convicted receive a long fixed sentence with a non-parole period, not a natural life term. Where life is a real prospect, the sentencing hearing is where the case for a lesser sentence has to be made, because a life sentence closes the door on parole and, if this Bill passes, on later review as well.
That is why the material put before the court at sentence matters so much in a homicide case, from the objective seriousness of the offence to the offender's background and the prospects of rehabilitation. A right of appeal against sentence remains, but a life sentence gives very little room to move afterwards. Early and careful preparation is the practical answer. If you or a family member is charged with a serious offence in NSW, get advice before the first mention, not after.
Authored by Aaron Kernaghan of Good Legal Lawyers
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Aaron is a Criminal defence lawyer in NSW and the ACT. Admitted to the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Over 26 years in practice across solicitor and counsel-instructing capacities. Trial, appellate and bail work in the Local Court, District Court, Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeal, and at the ACT Magistrates Court and ACT Supreme Court.