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Clause 2. Commencement
The Act will commence on a date set by the Administrator.
Clause 3. Act amended
This Act amends the Prisoners (Interstate Transfer) Act.
Clause 4. Amendment of Part II heading
This clause amends the heading of Part II from “Transfer for prisoner’s welfare” to “Transfer at request of prisoner”. This change emphasises the fact that the impetus for a transfer comes from the prisoners themselves and better reflects the prisoner’s own part in the transfer procedures.
Clause 5. Amendment of section 5 (Requests for, and orders of, transfer)
This clause makes minor amendments to section 5, primarily to delete the words “in the interests of the welfare of the prisoner” to provide for a new section that expands the matters to which the Minister may have regard in making a decision on a request for transfer.
Clause 6. Amendment of section 9 (Reports)
This clause amends section 9 to reflect current drafting practice and remove gender specific language.
Clause 7. New section 9A
This clause inserts a new section 9A in the Principal Act.
It broadens the range of factors that the Minister may have regard to when considering a request by a prisoner to be transferred to or from another state or territory. It removes the limitation on the Minister’s discretion in relation to transfer requests and provides instead that the Minister, when considering a request by a prisoner to be transferred to or from another state or territory, may have regard to any of the following:
· the welfare of the prisoner concerned;
· the administration of justice in the Territory or any other participating state or territory;
· the security and good order of any prison in the Territory or any other participating state or territory;
· the safe custody of the prisoner concerned;
· the protection of the community in the Territory or any other participating state or territory;
· any other matter the Minister considers relevant.
Clause 8. Amendment of section 21 (Provisions ancillary to section 18)
This clause provides the ancillary provisions to sections 18 and 19 of the Principal Act. Section 18 refers to prisoners being returned to the original state or territory in which they were sentenced because no sentence was imposed in the Northern Territory or the sentence imposed in the Territory is shorter. Section 19 refers to prisoners being transferred under Commonwealth and state or territory legislation. Section 21 includes provisions to describe the mattes that the Minister may have regard to when considering the transfer of a prisoner if the prisoner is to be returned to the original state or territory or the sentence in the Northern Territory is complete. These matters are the same as those in new section 9A.
Clause 9. Further amendments
This clause provides that the Schedule has effect. The Schedule sets out a series of minor amendments to the Principal Act which remove all instances of gender specific language and take account of amendments that have been made to the Interpretation Act. An example of the latter is that all references to “member of the Police Force” are omitted and substituted by reference to “a police officer”.