Custodial Policies and Procedures

Prison Rules are made by the Chief Executive Officer, Department of Justice, with the approval of the Minister for Corrective Services. Prison rules form the majority of the overall system of prisons and prisoner management derived from the Prisons Act 1981 .

Standards

Prison Standards are an integral component of the Department’s new Operating Standards and Procedures Framework and:

• are aspirational and identify how the Department intends to operate
• will help to set performance benchmarks
• will help to establish safe, decent and humane environments that encourage rehabilitation and prisoners and offenders to take personal responsibility.

Prison Standards align with the principles that underpin Individualised and Integrated Offender Management (IIOM):

• Responsible offender
• Decency and humanity
• Natural justice and procedural fairness
• Accountability and transparency

Women in Prison - Prisons Standard

The first Standard in Western Australia is for Women in Prison and reflects our aspiration to deliver a world-class approach to the management of women prisoners.

The Women in Prison – Prisons Standard recognises that women in prison have different needs to men. It addresses women’s special vulnerabilities and the fact that women in custody have often experienced significant personal trauma. It acknowledges that the high proportion of Aboriginal women in the justice system requires a culturally sensitive response.

Alcohol and drug testing

The Department maintains a workplace that is safe and promotes the highest standards of integrity and accountability amongst our custodial staff. To achieve this, the Professional Standards Division conducts drug and alcohol testing of custodial staff.

The Declaration of Targeted Drugs and Masking Agents (DOCX) listed are those which may be tested for during staff drug and alcohol testing events.

Principles

The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations aim to provide a nationally consistent approach to creating organisational cultures that foster child safety and wellbeing.

Youth Custodial Rules cover the management of BHDC and young people held in detention derived from the Young Offenders Act 1994.

Interstate transfers

All Australian States and Territories have corresponding law to allow the interstate transfer of prisoners.

In Western Australia, State sentenced prisoners can apply for an interstate prison transfer to a participating State or Territory under the welfare or legal provisions of the Prisoners (Interstate Transfer) Act 1983 (WA).

For State sentenced prisoners, they can request an application form from their prison Unit Manager who can provide assistance with the application process.

The application is considered by the WA Minister for Corrective Services, and if supported, the application is also forwarded to the appropriate Minister in the participating State or Territory. Both jurisdictions must consent to a transfer.

If the transfer is approved the prisoner will become subject to the laws in the State or Territory which they are transferring to.

Information regarding the interstate transfer process for Federal sentenced prisoners is available on the Attorney-General’s Department website.

International transfers

The International Transfer of Prisoners (ITP) scheme allows for sentenced prisoners in a foreign country to apply to transfer to their home country to serve the remainder of their sentence. These transfers require the consent of the Australian Attorney-General, WA Minister for Corrective Services (for State sentenced prisoners), Government of the foreign country, and the prisoner. Finalising applications for transfer to Australia can take some time, and in some cases can be years.

For prisoners requesting to be transferred to a WA prison, the prisoner or their family may be requested to pay the cost of the transfer.

The ITP Scheme is administered by the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department and further information can be found on their website.