A.05.01.R1 Mail between Prisoners and Specified Persons

Mail between a Prisoner and an Official Agency, and Mail between Prisoners and Members of Parliament

An officer authorised by the Prison Manager to deal with prisoner's mail must not open any mail, read any correspondence, or withhold any mail that is from:

• a prisoner to an Official Agency (Inspector, Monitor, Security Monitor, Visiting Justice, Ombudsman (in all their statutory roles), the Commissioner for Children, the Health and Disability Commissioner, the Human Rights Commission, the Police Complaints Authority or Privacy Commissioner); or
• a prisoner to a Member of Parliament and is addressed to that member at Parliament.
• is from an Official Agency or Member of Parliament to a prisoner, and accompanied by a covering letter addressed to the Prison Manager stating that the agency or Member of Parliament is acting in an official capacity in respect of the prisoner.

Mail Between a Prisoner and His or Her Legal Adviser

1. Except for specific exceptions (as stated in 2 to 6 below) an officer authorised by the Prison Manager to deal with prisoner's mail must not open any mail, read any correspondence, or withhold any mail between a prisoner and his or her legal adviser.
2. A staff member may open any mail that
   • is being sent by a prisoner to his or her legal adviser, but is not addressed to the legal adviser’s business address (including any postal address used for business purposes); or
   • has been sent by a prisoner’s legal adviser to the prisoner, but is not accompanied by a covering letter to the manager of the prison, stating that the legal adviser is acting in a professional capacity in respect of the prisoner; and the mail or correspondence relates to the prisoner’s legal affairs.
3. The manager of a prison may examine any mail between a prisoner and his or her legal adviser appearing to contain an unauthorised item, or any correspondence or document not related to the prisoner’s legal affairs.
4. The Prison Manager -
   • may read any correspondence or document, or part of any correspondence or document contained in any mail between a prisoner and his or her legal adviser (examined under 3 above) that appears not to be related to the prisoner’s legal affairs.
   • must stop reading the correspondence or document, or part of the correspondence or document, as soon as it appears to be related to the prisoner’s legal affairs.
5. The examination or reading of the mail between a prisoner and his or her legal adviser must take place in the prisoner’s presence.
6. Any unauthorised item contained in any mail to a prisoner from his or her legal adviser that has been examined under 3 above may be withheld from the prisoner.
7. Any correspondence or document contained in any mail between a prisoner and his or her legal advisor may be withheld if the manager has read it under 4 above and it (or any part of it) appears to the manager not to be related to the prisoner’s legal affairs.
8. No mail between a prisoner and his or her legal adviser may contain any item other than correspondence or documents relating to the prisoner’s legal affairs unless the prisoner and legal adviser first obtain the Prison Manager’s written approval.