Annual Legislative Reporting

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Corrections are required to provide additional reporting at the end of each financial year under the Corrections Act 2004, the Parole Act 2002, the Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Act 2014 and the Victims’ Rights Act 2002.

Corrections will continue to release high-value public data on the offender population, prison statistics, and community sentences and orders statistics, in accordance with the Declaration on Open and Transparent Government.

Corrections Act 2004

Section 190 prescribes particular requirements that must be reported on in Corrections’ annual report. These requirements cover:

Section 190(1)(a) - Requires the Chief Executive to report on how he has carried out his functions under section 8(1)(k) and prison directors have carried out their functions under section 12(d), of ensuring that processes are established and maintained to identify communities significantly affected by policies and practices in the corrections system, and giving opportunities for those communities to give their views on those policies and practices, and ensuring those views are taken into account.

Section 190(1)(b) - A report on the work undertaken by the Corrections Inspectorate, including statistical information about the disposition of complaints made by people under control or supervision and comment on issues arising from complaints or visits.

Section 190(1)(c)(d)(e) - A report on the processes and systems in place to supervise and control the monitoring of prisoner phone calls, including statistics on the proportion of prisoner calls monitored (otherwise than merely by being recorded) and the number and percentage of calls disclosed under section 117(1) and (2):
* to any person other than an employee of the Chief Executive or a contractor
* to an employee of the Chief Executive or a contractor
* of those disclosed, the number of proceedings against a person for a disciplinary offence in which a recording of any of those calls was used in evidence.

Legislative authority for Corrections to monitor prisoners’ telephone calls is provided under section 113 of the Corrections Act 2004.

Section 190(1)(f) - A report on measures to reduce drug and alcohol use by prisoners and the effectiveness of those measures, random-testing programmes and the results of those programmes.

Section 190(1)(g) - A report on the operation of every security contract that was in   force for the whole, or any part, of the year to which the annual report relates, including:

  • a summary of reports forwarded to the Chief Executive under section 171(2) or (3) (and, if applicable, the reports forwarded under section 36ZC(2) or (3) of the Penal Institutions Act 1954), and a summary of reports made to the Chief Executive under section 172(2)(b) (and, if applicable, the reports, if any, made under section 36ZD(2)(b) of the PenalInstitutionsAct1954)— during the year to which the annual report relates, and
  • a summary of any actions taken, during that year, in relation to the operation of security contracts as a result of any matters raised in any report so forwarded or made, whether during that year or any previous year.

Section 190(1)(h) - A report on the operation of every contract prison in operation in whole or in part in the year, including:

  • a summary of reports forwarded to the Chief Executive under section 199D(1A), (2), and (3), and
  • a summary of reports made to the Chief Executive under section 199E(3)(b)— during the year to which the annual report relates, and
  • a summary of any actions taken, during that year, in relation to the management of contract prisons as a result of any matters raised in any report so forwarded or made, whether during that year or any previous year.

Parole Act 2002

Section 15A of the Parole Act 2002 requires Corrections to include in its annual report information about the use of Electronic Monitoring. The information required covers:

  • the number of offenders who were at any time subject to an Electronic Monitoring condition
  • the average number of offenders who were subject to an Electronic Monitoring condition and the average duration of the condition
  • the percentage of offenders who, while subject to an Electronic Monitoring condition attached to an extended supervision order, were convicted for a breach of the condition, or convicted of any other offence
  • a description of processes and systems relating to Electronic Monitoring that were in place during the year reported on.

Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Act 2014

Section 121 of the Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Act 2014

(1) Corrections’ annual report under section 43 of the Public Finance Act 1989 must state in respect of the year to which the report relates:

  • the number of persons who, at the end of that year, are detained, under this Act, in residences and state, for each person so detained, the number of months for which the person has been detained in a residence
  • the number of persons who, at the end of that year, are detained, under this Act, in prisons and state, for each person so detained, the number of months for which the person has been detained in prison, and the reasons for that detention
  • the number of persons who have been released on protective supervision
  • the number of persons who were on protective supervision and who have again been detained under this Act
  • the number of times that the Chief Executive applied to the court, ahead of time and pursuant to a direction of the review panel, for a review of a public protection order
  • the number of appeals against orders made under this Act, and the outcome of each appeal
  • the number and nature of any serious incidents involving residents or staff members of residences, or both
  • the number and nature of any incidents involving the use of significant force or restraints on residents
  • the number of times seclusion was imposed on residents, and the duration of, and reasons for, each episode of seclusion
  • the number of times that residents were hospitalised
  • the number of residents who died
  • the number of emergencies in residences that required assistance from correction officers
  • any other matter that the Chief Executive considers should be included in the annual report.

(2) The annual report referred to in subsection (1) must also include a report on the activities undertaken by inspectors during the year to which the annual report relates.

Victims' Rights Act 2002

Section 50A of the Victims’ Rights Act 2002
(1) Without limiting section 43 of the Public Finance Act 1989, Corrections’ annual report must include a summary of the services provided to victims and statistical information about:

  • the number and type of complaints received, and
  • the disposition of those complaints.