Making the decision
The service manager or probation officer should use the following guidelines in making the decision about whether to approve the undertaking of a work project.
- Only undertake a project if it is unconditionally certain that the relevant criteria have been met.
- When no distinction can be drawn between the benefit to an institution and personal benefit to the people associated with the institution (unless aged or infirm), the project should not be approved.
- When considering projects covered by section 63 of the Sentencing Act 2002, care must be taken to adhere to both the letter and the spirit of the section.
- Particular attention must be paid to an institution’s ownership, for example:
- hospitals set up as corporations
- state-integrated schools, and
- profit-making sports clubs.
- Consideration must be given to:
- the range and value of skills available for the offenders to learn from the project
- the time needed (e.g. more time will be needed for a project involving instructional supervision than for a strictly labour-intensive project)
- whether the nature of the work is constructive (e.g. not scrub cutting unless involved in subsequent landscaping, not shifting stones unless constructing a pathway)
- the priority of the objectives of a work project, which are:
- completion of the project to the project sponsor’s satisfaction, and
- enhancement of offender skills.
Putting projects on hold
A project can be put on hold, rather than declined or approved to be undertaken immediately. This decision is made during the consultation with the service manager.
A project is put on hold in cases where the project is suitable, but it is not possible or appropriate to complete it immediately for some reason, e.g. if:
- there are insufficient expected muster numbers to perform the work
- the work is only suitable to be performed in summer, and that is not the season at the time the project is approved, or
- the appropriate materials or equipment are not currently available to carry out the work.
Note: If a project is put on hold, the service manager or probation officer advises the project sponsor of the reasons for delaying commencement. When the reason for delay is resolved, the approval process can continue.
