Scheduled Home Visit Requirements

Introduction

This topic sets out the situations and requirements for carrying out home visits in conjunction with a sentence/order, in addition to the scheduled home visits required to meet minimum reporting requirements (see previous topic).

Such home visits may be scheduled (pre-arranged with the offender, and possibly reinforced by an ITR) or unscheduled (no notice given to the offender, or other occupants).

A home visit must be undertaken:

• whenever the offender changes address; and
• prior to the offender moving (if the address is specified as a special condition of the sentence / order).

A home visit may also be required:

• as part of investigations relating to non-compliance, prior to taking formal enforcement action;
• if the probation officer becomes concerned that the offender is not in fact living at the residential address given; and
• in response to changes in circumstances, particularly if these raise concerns about the offender’s risk profile (e.g. relationship breakdown, alleged violence against a partner).

Change of address if the address is a special condition of the sentence

If an offender is required to live at a specified address as a special condition of the sentence/order, a home visit must be carried out prior to the offender moving.

In this situation:

• the offender must notify the probation officer about their intention to change address before they move;
• the probation officer arranges to visit the offender’s intended address to assess its suitability in accordance with the sentence/order conditions;
• the probation officer advises the offender about the address suitability, and advises whether or not the move will be allowed; and
• if the move is allowed, within 48 hours of the offender’s move, follows up with a further home visit to check the offender is settled.

Note: Probation officers must ensure any approval given complies with the relevant legislation, and the delegated authority granted to the probation officer to make the approval decision. There are specific requirements relating to residential addresses for offenders serving a sentence of home detention, or on parole with residential restrictions.

Change of address in other situations

If the address is not specified in the offender’s special conditions, the standard conditions require the offender to notify the probation officer of their new address.

If the offender intends to move to a different probation area, this notification must be provided before the offender moves.

In all other cases, they should give their probation officer reasonable notice before moving from their residence (unless notification is impossible in the circumstances) and must advise the probation officer of the new address.

A home visit (to the new address) is required if the offender changes their address. This is to enable the probation officer to confirm that the offender is in fact living at the new address, and to ensure that the address and the offender’s living circumstances comply with any conditions set out in the sentence/order.

Home visits in respect of a change of address should be carried out within 48 hours of the offender’s move to the new address.

Non-compliance action

A home visit may be carried out as part of the investigations into non-compliance on the part of the offender.

The timing and requirements for this type of home visit may vary depending on:

• the circumstances of the non-compliance
• whether the offender is being electronically monitored
• whether the electronic monitoring is reactive or retrospective, and
• whether the home visit is for the purpose of serving a summons.

Refer to the sentence management guidelines pertaining to each sentence (Volume 2 Part III Chapter 5) for detailed information.