Chris Dawson released from Sydney jail

Chris Dawson smiled from the front seat of his brother's Porsche as he was driven out of a Sydney prison almost three weeks after being arrested for the alleged murder of his wife.

Dawson was released from Silverwater Prison on Monday after he was granted strict conditional bail on December 17.

A series of complications with the former rugby league player's application, including a problem with the $1.5 million surety, delayed his release by a week.

Dawson was arrested on the Gold Coast earlier this month and extradited to NSW where he was charged with murdering wife Lynette Dawson, who went missing from Sydney's northern beaches in 1982.

It is understood Dawson will travel back to Queensland, where he will live with his wife on the Sunshine Coast and report daily to a local police station to comply with his bail conditions. He must also surrender his passport.

Ms Dawson was 33 when she went missing, leaving behind two young daughters.

Dawson intends to plead not guilty to killing his wife. Her body has never been found.

The case has become known around the world because of The Australian newspaper's investigative podcast, The Teacher's Pet.