New laws being proposed in NSW mean that offenders who refuse to provide information to locate their victim’s remains cannot be granted parole, coined the ‘No Body, No Parole’ law. 

The Bill was proposed today following the conviction of Chris Dawson, whose alleged guilt of murdering ex-wife Lynette came to light following Australian true crime podcast ‘The Teacher’s Pet’.

Chris Dawson was found guilty of his wife’s murder 40 years after she went missing, with her body never being found. 



NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the government’s proposed Bill would mean offenders must cooperate with investigators and disclose the location of remains for any chance of release on parole. 

“We will make it impossible for offenders who willfully and deliberately refuse to disclose information about their victim’s remains, to be granted parole,” Mr Perrottet said. 

“Being unable to locate a loved one’s body is extremely distressing and traumatic for the families and friends of victims and it denies a victim the dignity of being laid to rest appropriately,” he said. 

The Missing Persons Advocacy Network (MPAN) welcomed the Bill that works to reveal locations of victims. 

“We know through our work with families in situations like these, that a conviction is only the first component of achieving justice…the torment of ambiguous loss continues to plague those left behind until their missing loved one is found,” MPAN said in a statement. 

The proposed reform will mean the State Parole Authority (SPA) must not grant parole unless it concludes the offender has cooperated satisfactorily in identifying the victim’s location.  

Under the reforms, the SPA must rely on written advice from the Commissioner of NSW Police Force and other relevant information to determine whether the offender has co-operated satisfactorily to identify a victim’s location. 

Corrections Minister Geoff Lee said the reforms are modelled on laws in other jurisdictions and would apply to all current and future inmates in NSW to capture convicted offenders who have not yet been considered for parole. 

“Any offender in prison coming up for parole should really think hard about maintaining their refusal to cooperate with police if they want to retain their prospects of getting parole,” Dr Lee said.  

The Bill was prompted in NSW Parliament in 2017 when Michael Guider, who was convicted of 75 sexual abuse charges and the manslaughter of Samantha Knight was up for parole, despite the location of Ms Knight’s body being unknown. 

Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, Victoria and the Northern Territory already have ‘No Body, No Parole’ laws in place.