Repeal of the three strikes law

The Government has passed the Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Act 2022, which repeals the mandatory sentencing regime commonly known as the three strikes law.

The Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010 introduced the three strikes law. The law was intended to deter repeat offenders with the threat of progressively longer mandatory prison terms, and to penalise those who continued to re-offend through a three-stage process.

Concerns around the three strikes law included:

  • there was little evidence that the law had reduced serious offending
  • it restricted the judiciary’s ability to consider the individual circumstances and context of the offending when determining sentences
  • Māori are overrepresented in the group of offenders who have received a strike
  • the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court had found sentences imposed under the regime contravened the Bill of Rights Act
  • the Courts can already impose sentences equivalent to those under the three strikes law, when it is considered appropriate

The repeal does not apply to people who were sentenced under the three strikes law. This means that offenders who have been sentenced under the law will serve out their sentences as originally imposed.

How the three strikes regime worked

There were 40 qualifying three strike offences, comprising almost all major violent and sexual offences with a maximum penalty of seven years or greater imprisonment.

If an offender was convicted of a strike offence (with no previous strike warnings), they received an official first ‘strike’ warning.

If the offender was convicted of a second qualifying offence, they were given a final warning (second strike), and if they were sentenced to imprisonment, they had to serve the full sentence without parole.

If the offender was then convicted of a third qualifying offence the court was required to impose the maximum applicable penalty without parole, unless the court considered it would have been manifestly unjust to do so.

Finally, if the offender was convicted of murder on their second or third strike the court was required to impose a life sentence without parole, unless the court considered such a sentence would have been manifestly unjust.

Information about the Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Bill

Read the Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Act 2022(external link)

Read about how the Bill was passed into law (external link)

Related documents

RIA - repeal of the three strikes law [PDF, 3.3 MB]

Cabinet paper - repeal of the three strikes law [PDF, 1.5 MB]

SWC 21 MIN 0082 [PDF, 734 KB]

CAB 21 MIN 0230 [PDF, 746 KB]

Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Bill: Approval for Introduction [PDF, 1.3 MB]

Departmental Disclosure Statement: Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Bill [PDF, 1.3 MB]

LEG 21 MIN 0127 [PDF, 740 KB]

CAB 21 MIN 0387 [PDF, 1.3 MB]

This page was last updated: