VICTOR Chang's killer has been granted parole.

Chiew Seng Liew, 69, heard the decision on videolink from Long Bay jail. The decision to release him from prison means he will be immediately deported to his native Malaysia.



He had been sentenced to a maximum of 26 years in prison for the 1991 shooting of the heart surgeon during a failed extortion attempt.



It was Liew who fired the two shots which killed the prolific doctor.

The court heard Chang will be deported upon his release from Long Bay between October 3 and October 10.



He will be released "directly into the custody of (Immigration) officials," the authority said.



The court heard Liew was "often haunted" by his crime and saw his time in jail as "karma taking effect."



The Authority said it had received a submission from Dr Chang's family.



"While to the world Dr Victor Chang was an internationally renowned heart surgeon, to his family he was a husband and father, son and brother," the decision said.



"While the whole of Australia and beyond mourned the loss of one who had made such a contribution to the nation's health, his family would have been distraught with grief at their personal loss."



Outside court, victims of crime advocate Howard Brown said the Chang family were "absolutely devastated" at the decision, and called on the NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith to appeal.



The State Parole Authority announced in May its intention to release Liew after his non parole period expired last July, but the case went to hearing with victims of crime advocates and the NSW Attorney General Greg Smith arguing against his release.



But the court heard Liew's health was deteriorating and the exacerbation of his "degenerative and incurable" Parkinson's disease could soon result in him being "medically unfit" to return to Malaysia.



Dr Chang's family weren't at the Sydney West trial courts to hear the decision.



Parole authority chairman Ian Pike said Dr Chang's murder "was one of the most notorious in the state's history" because "of the callous nature of his execution."



Chiew Seng Liew, 69, appealed to the State Parole Authority more than one year after his non-parole period for the 1991 murder of heart surgeon Victor Chang expired.



Paul Menzies QC, appearing for NSW Attorney General Greg Smith, said today that Liew's illness shouldn't be the reason for his release, saying "it is in the public interest for him to continue to serve a period of imprisonment."



He said "the damage" Liew did through the crime should be taken into account, and that if taxpayers have to continue to pay to keep him in Australia "then so be it."



But his lawyer Will Hutchins told the court that time "is clearly of the essence" as Liew's worsening health means he soon may be "unfit to travel."



"There is no way of knowing when he will be on the precipice of being unfit to travel and be deported," he told the court.



Earlier Liew asked the court to read a letter "to say sorry" and "ask for leniency" but the hearing opted not to hear it.