Under s107(B) of the Sentence Administration Act 2003 (SAA), the Prisoners Review Board (Board), must provide a prisoner and the CEO with written notice of any decision and reasons for that decision, as soon as practicable after the decision is made, unless (s114 SAA ) the Board considers it is not in the interests of the prisoner or another person or the public to provide any or all of the reasons.
If a victim is registered with Victim Notification Register (VNR) notification of the decision and the reasons will be provided to the VNR so that this information can be passed on to any victims.
s119 SAA prohibits any person from disclosing any information about decisions of the Board unless it is for the purposes of and in the due exercise of the functions of the Board. However the chairman may make public a decision of the Board or the reasons for it if the chairman considers it is in the public interest in all the circumstances including the interest of the prisoner concerned and the interest of any victims107C(2) SAA. Generally there will be a public interest in the reason for a decision when the prisoner is serving a sentence of life or indefinite imprisonment or a term of imprisonment over four years.
The Board will publish decisions and reasons for decision on the website when a request is received, provided the person requesting publication can state the reasons for the request, so that the decision as to whether it is in the public interest to do so can be made in accordance withs107C(2) SAA.
Generally it will not be in the public interest to publish anything that would prejudice a prisoner’s successful completion of parole because that could impact on the risk of re-offending. Names or identifying details of victims will not be published. Submissions from victims will not be referred to in detail and pursuant tos114 SAA, will not be included in the reasons for decision if it is not in the victim’s interest.
Judge V French
Chairman
Prisoners Review Board
19 November 2007
To ensure that this website meets current needs and community interests this policy will be reviewed by the Board on a regular basis.
