New Zealand Parole Board chair Sir Ron Young has issued a set of guidelines for lawyers in relation to venue appearances.

His 4 March 2019 memorandum stresses that counsel should make all reasonable endeavours to be physically present with their clients at board hearings. If this is not possible - perhaps because prisoner have been transferred between prisons - local counsel should be instructed.

The guidelines say the Board does not have facilities in Wellington which easily allow a counsel to be present and representing an offender by AVL.

They say prisons generally have adequate AVL facilities but "there are real problems of communication" if counsel and offender are at different prisons.

However, if the presence of counsel or the instruction of alternative counsel is not possible, the guidelines recommend that an application for approval of the proposed arrangements should be submitted for approval to the Board at least one week before the board hearing.