Must be read in conjunction with the Performance Standards in A.09 Release to Work / Temporary Removal / Temporary Removal.
Guideline: A sentence management plan identifies a prisoner's needs, specifies any assessed rehabilitative and / or reintegrative needs, and outlines any programmes or interventions intended or scheduled to address those needs.
Ideally, all eligible and potentially eligible prisoners should be actively managed through the sentence planning and management processes with the goal of participation in Release to Work.
PPM A.09.02 provides a risk-management filter to screen for a prisoner's suitability to participate in Release to Work, to be used for eligible prisoners.
If a prisoner's application for Release to Work is not approved, the case officer (utilising active management principles) will discuss with the prisoner how to work towards approval for Release to Work.
The case officer and the prisoner will discuss how successfully addressing goals in the sentence management plan and / or negotiating appropriate amendments to the plan will be supportive of the prisoner's next application for Release to Work. Achievement of these objectives must drive the prisoner's future application.
Guideline: Criminogenic programmes take preference over Release to Work.
In the instance where a Release to Work opportunity conflicts with a criminogenic programme, the criminogenic programme must be given preference.
However, Release to Work is part of facilitating the reintegration of prisoners into the community and wherever possible, sentence plans should provide for the completion of criminogenic programmes prior to Release to Work.
Guideline: The completed 'Authority for Release to Work' form (A.09.03.F1) is to be issued to, and signed by the prisoner prior to his or her Release to Work commencing, and a copy of the authority is to be placed on the prisoner's file.
The prisoner must be able to produce this authority at any time during the duration of the Release to Work.
Guideline: Departure and return times for a prisoner's Release to Work must be recorded, as well as any changes to a prisoner's general attitude or behaviour.
The approval of hours of work beyond 12 hours (including travel time to / from work) in any one day, for a prisoner on Release to Work, is at the discretion of the Prison Manager.
Any approval must therefore specify the return of a prisoner in between working periods or shifts.
It is accepted that a working period or shift may begin in one calendar day and finish in the next calendar day, in which case the prisoner must return to the institution between such periods or shifts.
A prisoner granted Release to Work must return to the institution for his or her accommodation between each work period or shift.
Guideline: A prisoner who has been authorised for Release to Work in a district remote from the prison in which they are held must be transferred to any prison nearer the Release to Work locality, unless this is inconsistent with the prisoner's security classification and / or other requirements.
Ideally, prisoners should participate in the Release to Work in the areas in which they are to be released.
Section 98 and reg. 145: Prisoners approved for Release to Work may be scanned and / or rubdown searched, and may be strip-searched, both immediately before leaving the prison and on return to the prison, for the purpose of detecting any unauthorized item.
The temporary release and removal random testing programme established by regulation 145 of the Corrections Regulations 2005 applies to any prisoner who has been on Release to Work and who has not served more than 14 days since returning to prison after the expiry of the Release to Work period.
Guideline: Sections 67 and 68 of the Corrections Act 2004 govern the management of prisoner earnings from Release to Work.
Earnings can be used to pay:
When a prisoner's partner is receiving a benefit from Work and Income, any payments received by the partner from the prisoner will be treated by Work and Income as chargeable income and therefore may affect the partner's benefit. This is regardless of whether the prisoner is making the payments direct to the partner's own bank account or to a joint account that the prisoner holds with the partner.
Prisoner earnings on the Release to Work scheme that are paid to the prisoner's individual trust account are not treated as chargeable income for the partner in the community. However, on release from prison, any income held by the prisoner would be treated as a cash asset for benefit purposes.
Generally, where a child's parent is receiving a benefit from Work and Income, caring for the child and not living with the other parent of the child, the absent parent is liable to pay child support as assessed by the Inland Revenue Department. In this case, the absent parent is referred to as the liable parent, while the parent caring for the child is referred to as the custodial parent.
If the liable parent is in prison, he or she is exempt from paying child support unless he or she continues to receive a taxable income. For example, if the prisoner is participating in the Release to Work scheme. However, if the liable parent is participating in the Release to Work scheme and is absent from the relationship because he or she is in prison and plans to reconcile with the custodial parent on release, the requirement to pay child support is waived.
Guideline: Where Regional Office approval is required this must be sought using Temporary Release Request for Regional Office Approval (A.09.01.F2) and Temporary Release Checklist Request for Regional Office Approval (A.09.01.F3a).
Guideline: Service Support / Operations must be consulted before approving a Release to Work application for any High Profile Prisoner.
A High Profile Prisoner is defined as "Any prisoner who is likely to attract media attention throughout his or her sentence because of the nature of the offence committed and / or his or her role in society".
Any high profile prisoner, or prisoner who is likely to attract negative media interest must be assessed by Service Support / Operations.
If necessary, OCE Communications will develop a media plan to mitigate the risk of media interest that may compromise the Release to Work placement.
Under section 182 of the Corrections Act 2004 offender information will be disclosed by the Department to the Commissioner of Police.
The disclosure must be in accordance with arrangements between the Commissioner of Police and the Chief Executive.
The purpose of this section is to assist the monitoring of compliance by persons on temporary release with their conditions of temporary release.
The Chief Executive may disclose the following information to the Police:
This infomation must be supplied using the Notification to the Police of a Temporary Release form Prison Custody (A.09.01.F1).