Organised crime bail in NSW 2026: what the new laws mean if you are accused of being part of a criminal network
In June 2026 the NSW Parliament passed the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Organised and Gang-related Crime Reforms) Act 2026, introducing what the government described as the most significant package of organised crime reforms in NSW history. Among the most significant changes for criminal defendants are new and expanded bail provisions specifically targeted at people accused of serious organised crime offences. These reforms change the bail framework in fundamental ways – they extend show cause requirements to a wider range of offences, they create new and strengthened offences targeting criminal group participation, and they significantly expand the financial consequences of organised crime involvement through extended asset forfeiture periods.
If you or someone you know has been charged with an organised crime related offence and is facing a bail decision, understanding how the 2026 reforms have changed the legal landscape is the essential first step to preparing an effective response. This article explains the key changes, what they mean in practice at bail hearings, and what a successful bail application in this environment requires.
What the 2026 organised crime reforms changed
The 2026 legislation made several distinct categories of change that are relevant to bail. First, it created new standalone offences around arson of motor vehicles used as organised crime intimidation tools – car fires used as warnings or retaliation by criminal networks – and directly connected this conduct to the serious organised crime bail framework. Second, it created and strengthened offences targeting the recruitment of children and young people into criminal groups, recognising that this is a specific pattern of organised crime conduct that warrants enhanced criminal sanctions. Third, it extended the period during which the NSW Crime Commission can pursue asset forfeiture against persons subject to Drug Trafficker Declarations from one year to five years. Fourth, and most relevant to bail proceedings, it extended the categories of offence for which show cause requirements apply under the Bail Act 2013 (NSW).
The show cause extension means that for the new and expanded offences introduced by the 2026 legislation, the ordinary presumption in favour of bail is reversed. People charged with the new gang-related arson offences, the child recruitment into criminal groups offence, and certain serious criminal group participation offences at the higher end of the scale now face the reversed burden: they must demonstrate why their continued detention is not justified, rather than the prosecution needing to make a case for detention.
Show cause in the organised crime context – what it means
Show cause under section 16A of the Bail Act 2013 (NSW) requires an accused person to actively and affirmatively demonstrate why their detention is not justified. This is a genuine burden – it is not satisfied by simply proposing conditions or challenging the prosecution’s evidence. The accused must show the court something positive: that the specific circumstances of their case make ongoing detention disproportionate, that the risks identified by the prosecution can be genuinely and credibly addressed by conditions, and that there are personal circumstances or other factors that weigh clearly in favour of release.
In the organised crime context, showing cause is particularly challenging because of the specific risk concerns that courts identify in these matters. The concerns are not just about flight risk or risk of individual offending – they extend to the risk of continued participation in an organised criminal network, the risk of witness intimidation in a context where criminal networks have both the motive and the capacity to reach out to witnesses, and the risk that the accused will use their freedom to protect the network’s assets or operations while proceedings are pending. Courts are alive to these concerns and they require direct and credible responses to each of them in a successful bail application.
Building a bail proposal in an organised crime matter
A bail proposal in a serious organised crime matter must go substantially beyond identifying an address and a surety. Courts want to see: a specific residential proposal that places the accused genuinely away from the criminal network and from the areas and individuals associated with it; evidence that any ongoing connection to the criminal group can be genuinely severed by conditions rather than simply stated on the bail application; a credible surety from a person of genuine good standing in the community who has real financial means to meet the surety obligation; evidence of legitimate employment or a realistic and documented prospect of employment; character references from people who know the accused in contexts entirely separate from the alleged criminal activity; and a comprehensive set of conditions tailored to address the specific risk concerns the prosecution will identify.
National Criminal Lawyers’ practice in bail applications includes urgent show cause bail applications in serious organised crime matters at all court levels, including the Supreme Court where Local Court bail has been refused. We understand the specific concerns courts have in organised crime bail hearings and how to address them effectively.
The car fire offences and bail
One of the more specific and novel elements of the 2026 organised crime reforms directly addresses the use of vehicle arson as a criminal network intimidation tool. NSW had already seen a pattern of deliberate car fires used to threaten or punish individuals who had either failed to pay debts to criminal organisations, cooperated with police, or were otherwise the subject of criminal group displeasure. The 2026 legislation created specific offences targeting this conduct and attached them to the organised crime bail framework.
A person charged with deliberately setting fire to a motor vehicle in circumstances suggesting organised crime motivation or gang-related purpose may face both the substantive arson charge and the organised crime offence. The combination of these charges, and the show cause bail requirements attached to the organised crime element, creates a difficult bail environment. The prosecution will typically rely on the nature of the alleged conduct, any history between the accused and the victim, and any evidence of organisational context to oppose bail.
Child recruitment into criminal groups
The 2026 legislation created a specific and serious offence targeting the recruitment of children and young people into criminal groups. This offence recognises a pattern that NSW Police have identified in which organised crime networks deliberately target vulnerable young people – particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas – and recruit them into criminal activity as couriers, lookouts, or street-level participants. The offence is designed to make recruitment itself a serious criminal act and to hold organisers and recruiters directly responsible for the harm this conduct causes to young people.
Where a person is charged with this offence, the prosecution’s case will focus on the nature of the relationship between the accused and the young person, the circumstances of the recruitment, and any evidence of inducements, promises, or coercion. The offence can attract a serious show cause bail requirement, and courts will be particularly alert to the risk that an accused might have ongoing access to young people or continue recruitment activities if released on bail.
Extended asset forfeiture under the Drug Trafficker Declaration
The 2026 reforms extended the period within which the NSW Crime Commission can pursue asset forfeiture proceedings against persons subject to Drug Trafficker Declarations from one year to five years. This is a very significant change for people connected to drug trafficking organisations, because it means that assets acquired over a much longer historical period – and not just recently – are now potentially subject to forfeiture proceedings. The Crime Commission can seek to recover the proceeds of drug trafficking going back substantially further than it could before, making the financial exposure for those connected to drug trafficking networks significantly larger.
Asset forfeiture proceedings under the Criminal Assets Recovery Act 1990 (NSW) run on a civil standard of proof – the balance of probabilities rather than beyond reasonable doubt. This lower standard makes it easier for the Crime Commission to succeed in forfeiture applications than the prosecution would need to in a criminal conviction. It is therefore possible to face significant asset loss even where the criminal charges themselves are not ultimately proved. This financial dimension of the 2026 reforms is something anyone charged in an organised crime matter needs to understand and address with specialist legal advice alongside the criminal proceedings.
Contact Us
At National Criminal Lawyers, we advise on organised crime charges, show cause bail applications, and asset forfeiture proceedings under both the 2026 legislation and the pre-existing legal framework. These are complex matters that require coordinated specialist legal attention across criminal, bail, and civil asset recovery proceedings. Call us at 1800 CRIM LAW for a free consultation. Help us help you understand your situation and get you the best outcome possible.
