Imposition - RAR

Draft guideline for consultation only. Draft guidelines should not be taken into account when sentencing.

A rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR) requires the offender to participate in rehabilitative activities designed to address the behaviours and needs that contributed to the offence, and attend supervision appointments with Probation.

The court will specify the maximum number of rehabilitative activity days the offender must complete. Post-sentence, Probation will assess the offender and produce a tailored activity plan based on their needs. Activities can include probation-led toolkits or group structured interventions, or referral to external organisations providing rehabilitative services.

Volume/length range: Minimum of 1 RAR day; no maximum, to be completed within the length of the order.

A rehabilitation activity requirement should be imposed when the offender has rehabilitative needs that cannot be addressed by other requirements.

The specific type of activities that the offender will be required to participate in will be determined post-sentence by an assessment of these rehabilitative needs, and as such sentencers should consider the number of RAR days recommended by Probation to ensure this number is suitable and proportionate to the level of need and any eligibility requirements for commissioned rehabilitative services that may be relevant.

Structured rehabilitative activity appointments are complemented by supervision appointments with Probation which ensure contact is maintained, Probation can track the offender’s progress in completing activities and offer support where necessary.

The court needs only to specify the number of ‘RAR’ or rehabilitative activity days, and Probation will manage supervision appointments alongside these days.