The Law Handbook 2024

232 SECTION 3: Fines, infringements and criminal law purpose of the notification is to allow the letter or parcel to be opened and inspected before those parties. Importantly, especially from the perspective of legal professional privilege, the prison manager is not permitted to read or censor the letter or parcel. Additionally, section 47C permits all other letters or parcels to be opened and read to determinewhether or not the contents of the letter may jeopardise the safety and security of the prison and the safe custody and welfare of the person in prison or community safety. There is no reasonable suspicion test in this section, or other objective criteria to determine when letters or parcels may be opened and read. The statute appears to envisage that all letters and parcels not falling within section 47(1)(m) will be read by prison authorities. Prison offences Prison disciplinary proceedings Prison offences are defined as any contravention of the Corrections Act or Corrections Regulations. These offences are in addition to the criminal law. Prison offences are determined by the relevant legislation: the Corrections Act, Corrections Regulations, Commissioner’s Requirements, Deputy Commissioner’s Instructions, Local Operating Procedures (for public prisons) and Operations Manuals (for private prisons). Prison discipline is covered in Part 7 of the Corrections Act. On the suspicion that a breach of prison rules has occurred, the matter is reported to a disciplinary officer. The disciplinary officer, after investigating the alleged offence and after giving the person in prison an opportunity to explain, may then take no further action either because they are satisfied that no offence has been committed or because the offence is trivial. If action is to be taken, the offence must be recorded in writing and the report given to the person in prison and to the prison manager as soon as possible. The disciplinary officer may: • reprimand the person or withdraw one of the person’s privileges for up to 14 days; • charge the person with a prison offence to be heard at a general manager’s disciplinary hearings; or • take steps to have the matter dealt with under the criminal law. The disciplinary officer’s decision cannot be appealed, reviewed, challenged or questioned in court. Prison general manager’s disciplinary hearing When a charge is laid against a person in prison, the matter is dealt with via a ‘general manager’s disciplinary hearing’ conducted by the prison manager or delegate, who is called the ‘hearing officer’. People in prison are not permitted lawyers for these hearings, which are a notoriously opaque process. Disciplinary processes are outlined in Part 2 of the Commissioner’s Requirements. Before a disciplinary hearing, the person in prison must be given a ‘charge of prison offence’ document. The information in this document includes: • the prison offence the person in prison has been charged with committing; • where relevant, a list of the contraband items seized from the person in prison; • the name of the informant; • the time, date and place of the disciplinary hearing; • the disciplinary hearing’s procedures; and • the name of the hearing officer who will hear the matter. A person in prison must be notified of a disciplinary hearing at least 72 hours before the proposed time of the hearing. That is, unless the person and the hearing officer agree to hold the hearing earlier. Or, unless the person is due to be discharged or transferred within seven days. A person in prison must have the opportunity to sign a ‘notification of charge of prison offence’ document, which is also to be signed by the issuing prison officer and a witness (noting the time and date the charge was issued). Before a disciplinary hearing, the hearing officer must consider the person’s current psychiatric rating and, where appropriate, seek advice from health professionals to determine if it is appropriate to proceed with the disciplinary hearing. The hearing officer must take into consideration the person’s age, maturity and psychiatric condition – both in terms of mitigation and likely impact on their mental state regarding the latter – in determining