Community work is the sentence that keeps a person out of gaol without letting the offence pass. Section 199A gives the District Court the power, and hedges it with limits that come straight from the Constitution.
The provision
(1) Where, under any law a Court may, after conviction, impose a fine or imprisonment for an offence, it may, as well as imposing a fine, or instead of imposing a fine or imprisonment, order the defendant to perform specified work for community purposes of a kind and in a manner approved by the Minister by notice in the National Gazette.
(2) The work ordered shall not exceed (a) eight hours in any one day; and (b) six days in any one week, over a period not exceeding three months.
(3) Where a person fails to comply with an order, the Court may order him to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding two days for every day on which he fails to comply.
(4) An order under Subsection (1) may include an anticipatory order under Subsection (3).
When it is available
Three conditions. There must be a conviction, so the order cannot be combined with a section 132 discharge. The offence must be one for which a fine or imprisonment may be imposed, which covers almost every offence. And the work must be of a kind approved by the Minister by gazette notice: the Court cannot invent a task. The Magistrates’ Manual adds a practical fourth condition: the option is “of no value to the court unless a Probation Officer and appropriate resources are available to arrange and supervise the court’s order”. In a district without a probation service, a community work order may not be workable.
The limits and why they exist
No person shall be required to perform forced labour, but a law may provide for compulsory labour that is required in consequence of the sentence or order of a court and is reasonably necessary in the circumstances.
The Manual warns that the time limits in section 199A must be strictly adhered to, otherwise the order will be unconstitutional as a violation of the freedom from forced labour. An order for “community work until the debt is worked off”, or for ten hours a day, or for six months, is beyond power. The order should specify the work, the hours, the days and the end date, and the place and person to whom the offender reports.
| Element | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Hours in a day | 8 |
| Days in a week | 6 |
| Duration of the order | 3 months |
| Imprisonment for non-compliance | 2 days for each day of default |
The anticipatory order
Subsection (4) lets the Court, when making the order, fix in advance the imprisonment that will follow default, so that the offender knows the consequence and the Clerk can act on proof of default without a further hearing on penalty. Because the consequence is imprisonment, a defendant alleged to have defaulted is still entitled to be heard on whether he did default and whether he had a reasonable excuse; section 42 of the Constitution and the rules of natural justice require that much. The Manual’s general advice about warrants of commitment applies: the Court must be satisfied of the default before the warrant issues.
Combined with a fine
Section 199A(1) allows community work as well as a fine. A magistrate may therefore impose a modest fine with time to pay and community work in addition. What it does not allow is community work as well as imprisonment for the same offence; the phrase is “instead of imposing a fine or imprisonment”.
Related orders
| Order | Source | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Probation | Probation Act s 16 | Sentence suspended or deferred, six months to five years, with supervision and conditions; community work may be a condition |
| Village Court community work | Village Courts Act s 42(2) | Imposed by a Village Court instead of a fine, for defined periods |
| Juvenile community service | Juvenile Justice Act 2014 ss 80, 82 | Sentence for a juvenile, with its own limits on community service work |
| Restriction of movement | District Courts Act s 205B | Not work, but exclusion from an area or return home; see restriction of movement |
Asking for it
A defendant who wants community work rather than a fine or custody should tell the Court where he lives, that he can attend the approved place, and that he has no means to pay. The magistrate will want to know that a probation or community officer is available to supervise. A pre-sentence report, obtained on a short adjournment under section 89 with bail under section 10 of the Bail Act, is the usual way to establish that. See sentencing options.
The District Courts Act is not on PacLII; it is available on vLex. The Probation Act and Village Courts Act provisions are cited from the Magistrates’ Manual.
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the District Courts Act (Chapter 40) and check for later amendments. The Act is not on PacLII; the figures and time limits quoted in this series come from the consolidation to No 8 of 2000, and the District Courts (Amendment) Act 2009 changes some of them once it is brought into operation. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.