Getting out of jail harder after changes to NSW bail laws

Gay Williams doesn't want any other mother to see her daughter's alleged killer walk free like she had to.

In June, her son-in-law Stephen Fesus was the first person granted bail under new bail laws. He is accused of strangling his wife Jodie in 1997 and burying her body in a shallow beach grave.

Also freed was bikie boss Mick Hawi, accused of murder at Sydney Airport, and former bikie boss Sam Ibrahim, who later had his bail revoked.

Getting out of jail will now be harder for those accused of serious offences before they're even convicted. A reversed onus of proof mean they'll have to "show cause" on why their detention isn't justified.

Anyone assessed as an unacceptable risk will be refused bail, and new factors including links to organised crime and the victim's views on their safety will be taken into account.

But the changes come just two months after existing bail laws were changed, angering prisoners’ rights groups and legal experts.

Gay Williams knows the changes aren’t retrospective and Stephen Fesus will remain on bail as he awaits trial, but she is still pleased.