Overview

• The 81-year-old former NSW Labor minister was released this morning to serve the rest of his sentence in the community after approval by the State Parole Authority.
• Parole conditions bar him from controlling other people’s money or assets and restrict contact with co‑offenders without approval, with the order in force until October 20, 2028 unless revoked.
• Obeid was sentenced in 2021 to seven years for conspiring over a coal exploration licence that delivered a $30 million windfall to his family, with a non‑parole period of three years and 10 months that ended today.
• Co‑defendants include his son Moses, who was released last October and later served home detention for lying to ICAC in a separate matter, and former minister Ian Macdonald, who is not eligible for parole until January 2027.
• The Australian Taxation Office’s pursuit of unpaid tax linked to the $30 million payment is now in its 11th year, according to reporting.