Commissioner may permit child to reside with prisoner
57 Commissioner may permit child to reside with prisoner
This section applies if:
(a) a female prisoner gives birth to a child while she is a prisoner; or
(b) at the time a female prisoner became a prisoner she has or had parental responsibility for a young child:
of whom she is the mother; or
under a court order.
(2) At the request of the female prisoner, the Commissioner may consent to the child residing at a custodial correctional facility with the prisoner.
(3) The Commissioner must not consent unless the Commissioner considers that all of the following apply:
(a) it is in the best interests of the child to reside at the facility with the prisoner;
(b) the security and good order of the facility would not be threatened by the child residing at the facility;
there is suitable accommodation at the facility for the child;
(d) the child is not the subject of a court order awarding custody of the child to a person other than the prisoner;
(e) the child has been immunised in accordance with the recommendations of the National Immunisation Program.
(4) The Commissioner must revoke the consent if the Commissioner considers a matter mentioned in subsection (3)(d) or (e) no longer applies.
The Commissioner may revoke the consent at any time.
(6) For the purpose of determining what is in the best interests of the child:
(a) the Commissioner may make enquiries and obtain information as the Commissioner considers appropriate; and
(b) a person or organisation with relevant information about the child is authorised to disclose the information to the Commissioner.
In this section:
mother means the female parent (within the meaning of section 17 of the Care and Protection of Children Act 2007) of a child.
parental responsibility, see section 22 of the Care and Protection of Children Act 2007.
young child means a child who is under the compulsory school age within the meaning of section 38(1) of the Education Act 2015.
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