Corrective Services Act 2006

The president may make a restricted prisoner declaration about a restricted prisoner if the president is satisfied it is in the public interest to do so.

In considering the public interest the president must have regard to the following matters—

the nature, seriousness and circumstances of the offence, or each offence, for which the prisoner was sentenced to life imprisonment;

any risk the prisoner may pose to the public if the prisoner is granted parole;

the likely effect that the prisoner’s release on parole may have on an eligible person or a victim.

Also, in deciding whether to make a restricted prisoner declaration the president must have regard to the following information—

the restricted prisoner report about the prisoner;

if an eligible person has, under section 188, at any time made a submission in relation to a parole application made by the prisoner—the submission;

any relevant remarks made by a court in a proceeding against the prisoner for the offence for which the prisoner was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment;

if the prisoner made a submission under section 175G(3)(d)—the submission.

Without limiting subsections (2) and (3), the president may have regard to any other matter or information the president considers relevant to the public interest.

If the president considers it reasonable in the circumstances, the president may—

defer deciding whether to make the restricted prisoner declaration; and

ask any person for further information or documents the president reasonably requires to decide whether to make the declaration.

The president must decide whether to make the restricted prisoner declaration within the following period—

if the president has deferred making the decision under subsection (5)—150 days after receiving the restricted prisoner report;

otherwise—120 days after receiving the restricted prisoner report.

A failure to make a decision within the period mentioned in subsection (6) does not affect the validity of the president’s decision.

In this section—victim see the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 2009, section 5.