New Zealand Parole Board -

Attended hearing – a New Zealand Parole Board hearing where the offender, and others approved by the Board may be present.

Conditions – the rules which are set, and an offender must obey, on release from prison. There are standard conditions set in the Parole Act, and the Board can impose special conditions on offenders released before the end of their sentence.

Determinate sentence - a fixed term sentence of imprisonment.

Extended Board – a panel of the Board which sees offenders serving a life sentence or preventive detention.

Extended Supervision Order - a court imposed order on some offenders convicted of certain child sex offences, who have a high risk of re-offending.

Hearing – where three or more members of the Board consider an offender’s case. A hearing can be 'attended' or 'unattended'.

Life imprisonment – an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment that exists for the life of an offender.  The offender may be paroled once they are eligible, but is subject to conditions for life and can be recalled for any breach.

Member - a person specifically appointed by the by the Attorney-General to be a Parole Board member and who sits on a panel and takes part in making decisions about a case.

Oral submission – when a registered victim verbally gives information to the Board about an offender.

Panel - a group of at least three Board members who consider (or hear) a case.

Panel Convenor – the person, usually a Judge, former Judge, or lawyer who chairs a parole panel and is appointed to the Board by the Attorney-General as a convenor.

Parole - is a discretionary decision to release a offender from prison to serve the remainder of his or her sentence in the community on conditions supervised by a Probation Officer.

Parole eligibility date (PED) – the date at which an offender becomes eligible to be considered for parole.

Postponement order - when an offender's next parole hearing is deferred for between three and five years.

Pre-commencement date or pre-CD sentences - means a sentence of imprisonment that was imposed before the Parole Act 2002 came into effect on 30 June 2002. This is known as the commencement date.

Recall - an application made to the Board to return a paroled offender to prison, at any time before their statutory release date.

Release on conditions - rules set by the board for offenders who are released from prison on completion of their sentence. These conditions last for six months, during which the offender can't be recalled to prison as their sentence has expired.

Registered victim - an eligible victim who has registered their details with the NZ Police to be notified of certain events about the offender, including when the offender's hearing is due to take place. They also have an automatic right to make submissions to the Board in writing or verbally.

Residential restrictions – a special condition of parole that is effectively a curfew requiring an offender to stay at a specified address at all times, or at times specified by the Board. Electronic monitoring, usually involving an ankle bracelet, may be used to monitor compliance.

Review – an offender may ask for a decision of the Board about them to be reconsidered on certain procedural grounds. This review must be undertaken by a convenor who did not make the earlier decision.

Sentence expiry date/sentence end date (SED) – the date at which an offender’s sentence ends.  After this date the offender can no longer be recalled to prison, although they may be subject to release conditions that last up to six months after their sentence end date (which if broken cannot result in a recall to prison but can lead to a prosecution).

Special release conditions – conditions specific to an offender, set by the Board, with which the individual must comply with on release.

Standard release conditions – conditions set by the Parole Act, which all offenders must comply with when they are released from prison.

Statutory release date (SRD) - the latest date at which an offender must, by law, be released from prison for a determinate sentence. Indeterminate sentences have no SRD.

Unattended hearing – a Board hearing where only the Board members considering the case and an administrator are present.

Victim – a person who has been a victim of an offence, as defined in the Victims’ Rights Act.

Waiver - an offender can forgo their right to appear at their hearing by signing a waiver form. The case will still be considered in their absence.

Written submission – when a registered victim, or another party, gives written information to the Board about an offender’s case.

Whanau hui - a reintegration meeting with an offender's support network.