Absences on Humanitarian Grounds

Introduction

This topic outlines requirements for approving absences on humanitarian grounds.

Legislative reference: Section 69E(2)(d) Sentencing Act 2002.

Exceptional circumstances only

Requests for absences on humanitarian grounds must only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

If an offender has ‘ongoing humanitarian grounds for absences’, then an application to vary the curfew periods must be put before the court.

Humanitarian grounds are the only circumstances in which absences may be granted; if the offender is subject to CD only.

Note: An offender on CD or CD/CW should not be seeking repeated absences to fulfil regular commitments outside the current curfew hours (e.g. leaving 30 minutes prior to curfew end each day to reach employment on time). Absences on humanitarian grounds cannot be considered in these types of circumstances. Instead, an application seeking a change in the curfew schedule must be put before the court.

Criteria for approval

Requests for absences on humanitarian grounds may only be approved if the following criteria are met:

• genuine humanitarian grounds exist and can be verified, and
• the absence is verified by an independent professional

or

• an approved sponsor is available to accompany the offender during the absence, and
• the service manager approves.

Humanitarian grounds: examples

The following list provides examples of when an absence can be granted on humanitarian grounds. To:

• be admitted to hospital for treatment or to attend medical treatment
• visit a member of the offender’s family, or close friend, who is seriously ill or incapacitated
• attend the funeral, tangi, or subsequent ceremonial commemoration of the death (e.g. the unveiling of a headstone) of a family member or close friend
• meet the needs of the offender’s family if the offender is seriously ill and unlikely to recover
• enable the offender to give birth to a child, or to attend the birth of the offender’s own child or visit the offender’s newborn child.

Note: This is not an exhaustive list and staff need to use their professional judgement, when considering whether offender circumstances meet ‘humanitarian grounds’ criteria.