What is a "ticket of leave" man?

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. Each change of employer or district was recorded on the ticket.

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. They were often required to repay the cost of their passage to the colony. 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. Convicts who did not observe the conditions of their ticket could be arrested without warrant, tried without recourse to the Supreme Court, and would forfeit their property.

The ticket of leave licences were developed first to save money, but they then became a central part of the convict system which provided the model for later systems of probation for prisoners.

Governor King (1800-1804) first issued tickets of leave to any convicts who seemed able to support themselves, in order to save on providing them with food from the government store. The tickets were then used as a reward for good behaviour and special service, such as informing on bushrangers. Gentlemen convicts were issued with tickets on their arrival in the colony although Governor Macquarie (1810-1821) later ordered that a convict had to serve at least three years before being eligible.