ticket of leave

A pass issued to convicts in Australia as a reward for good behaviour; it was a form of parole which could be issued after 4, 6, or 8 years depending on whether the sentence was for 7, 14 years, or life, respectively. About 30% of convicts received tickets of leave by 1840.

A ticket of leave was a piece of paper issued to convicts transported from the United Kingdom who had served a period of probation, and had shown by their good behaviour that they could be allowed certain freedoms. Once granted a ticket of leave, a convict was permitted to seek employment within a specified district but could not leave the district without the permission of the government or the district's resident magistrate.

Ticket of leave men were permitted to marry or to bring their families from Britain, and to acquire property, but they were not permitted to carry firearms or board a ship. A convict who observed the conditions of his ticket of leave until the completion of one half of his sentence was entitled to a conditional pardon, which removed all restrictions except the right to leave the colony.

The ticket itself was a highly detailed document listing the place and year the convict was tried, the name of the ship in which he or she was transported, and the length of the sentence.