Commonwealth Consolidated Regulations Commonwealth Consolidated Regulations(1) Subject to this Division, a detainee may send letters or parcels to, and receive letters or parcels from, persons who are not detained on agreeing, in the case of letters or parcels sent by post, to the opening or inspection of those letters or parcels in accordance with this Division.
(2) A detainee shall be permitted to send:
(a) immediately on being admitted -- 2 letters;
(b) in every week of detention -- 2 letters; and
(c) such additional letters as the officer in charge of the detention centre permits.
(3) Where a detainee delivers to the officer in charge of a detention centre, or a member of the staff, a letter addressed by the detainee to the Defence Force Ombudsman, a member of Parliament, a member of the legal profession or an authorized officer:
(a) the officer in charge shall cause the letter to be sent to the addressee; and
(b) the letter shall not be opened, inspected or read other than by the person to whom it is addressed or some other person authorized by that person.
(4) A letter that has been, and whose envelope purports to have been, addressed to a detainee by the Defence Force Ombudsman shall not be opened, inspected or read other than by that detainee or some other person authorized by that detainee.
(5) Where a member of Parliament or of the legal profession sends to a detainee a letter contained in a sealed envelope accompanied by a letter addressed to the officer in charge of the detention centre indicating that privilege is claimed in respect of the letter in the sealed envelope, that sealed envelope and letter shall not, except as provided in subregulation (6), be opened and inspected or read by any person other than the detainee or some other person authorized by that detainee.
(6) Where the officer in charge or an authorized member has reasonable grounds for believing that a sealed envelope referred to in subregulation (5) addressed to a detainee may contain money, contraband or any item or matter that is likely to adversely affect the security, discipline or good order of the centre, the detainee may be required to open the sealed envelope in the presence of the officer in charge or the authorized member.
(7) Where a sealed envelope is opened in accordance with subregulation (6) and found to contain money, contraband or any other item or matter that, in the opinion of the officer in charge of a detention centre, may adversely affect the security, discipline or good order of the centre, the sealed envelope or money, contraband, other item or matter contained in the envelope or any or all of them, may be impounded.