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CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2008 - SECT 280 Seizing mail etc

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2008 - SECT 280

Seizing mail etc

    (1)     The director-general may seize anything in a young detainee's protected mail if the director-general believes on reasonable grounds that the thing—

        (a)     may physically harm the addressee or anyone else; or

        (b)     is a prohibited thing.

    (2)     The director-general may seize other mail of a young detainee, or anything in the mail, if the director-general suspects on reasonable grounds that the seizure is necessary—

        (a)     to stop any of the following entering or leaving a detention place:

              (i)     a prohibited thing;

              (ii)     anything that may be used by the young detainee in a way that may involve an offence, a behaviour breach, a risk to the personal safety of someone else or a risk to security or good order at a detention place; or

        (b)     to stop correspondence that is threatening, or not in the best interests of the young detainee, from entering or leaving a detention place; or

        (c)     to stop a young detainee obtaining or buying goods without the director-general's approval.

Example—correspondence not in best interests of young detainee—par (b)

mail addressed to a young person by someone convicted of a sexual offence against a child

    (3)     The director-general may seize a document under this section only if the director-general believes on reasonable grounds that the document is not privileged.

    (4)     If the director-general believes on reasonable grounds that a document seized under subsection (3) is privileged, the director-general must return the document to the detainee immediately.

    (5)     In this section:

"mail" means postal mail.

"protected mail" means mail between a young detainee and any of the following:

        (a)     a lawyer representing the young detainee;

        (b)     an official visitor;

        (c)     the inspector of correctional services;

        (d)     the director of public prosecutions;

        (e)     a commissioner exercising functions under the Human Rights Commission Act 2005

;

        (f)     the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people commissioner;

        (g)     the information privacy commissioner;

        (h)     the ombudsman;

              (i)     the integrity commissioner;

        (j)     a person prescribed by regulation.