Public Trustee Act 1978

Where the public trustee is of the opinion that it is not desirable that the public trustee should continue to manage the estate of a prisoner, the public trustee shall give to the chief executive (corrective services) notice in duplicate, in the form approved by the public trustee, of the public trustee’s intention to discontinue such management from a date to be stated in the notice, being not less than 8 weeks after the date of signing of the notice.

Within 7 days of the receipt of any such notice, the chief executive (corrective services) shall cause a copy of the notice to be delivered to—

the prisoner if the prisoner is not at liberty; or

the prisoner if the prisoner is at liberty as a result of a parole order made pursuant to the provisions of the Corrective Services Act 2006 (a parole order); or

the prisoner or such officer or other person as the chief executive (corrective services) considers reasonable if the prisoner is a person mentioned in section 90(b) who is released on a reintegration program under section 174 of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992.

Such officer or other person shall take such steps as appear to the officer or other person to be reasonable to bring the contents and effect of any such notice received by the officer or other person pursuant to subsection (2)(c) to the attention of the prisoner without delay.

The chief executive (corrective services) or the prisoner or any other person appearing to the public trustee to have a proper interest may, within 6 weeks of the receipt of the notice by the chief executive (corrective services), make written representations to the public trustee that the notice should be revoked and where such representations are made by the prisoner (other than a prisoner who is at liberty as aforesaid) the chief executive (corrective services) shall transmit them forthwith to the public trustee.

If the public trustee, after considering such representations (if any) or any other matters, determines that the public trustee should continue to manage the estate of such prisoner, the public trustee shall, prior to the date stated in the notice of intention to discontinue, revoke such notice and give notice to the chief executive (corrective services) in duplicate, in the form approved by the public trustee, of such revocation.

The chief executive (corrective services) shall cause a copy of the notice of revocation to be delivered to the prisoner, or, for a prisoner mentioned in subsection (2)(c), to the prisoner or to such officer or other person as the chief executive (corrective services) considers reasonable.

Where a notice of revocation has been delivered to the chief executive (corrective services) pursuant to the provisions of subsection (5) or to an officer or other person pursuant to the provisions of subsection (6), the chief executive (corrective services) or, as the case may be, officer or other person shall take such steps as appear to him or her to be reasonable to bring the contents and effect of the notice of revocation to the attention of the prisoner.

Where the public trustee has given notice pursuant to subsection (1) of the public trustee’s intention to discontinue the management of the estate of a prisoner after the date stated in the notice, the authority of the public trustee to manage under this part the estate of the prisoner shall cease after that date unless in the meantime the public trustee has given notice of revocation pursuant to subsection (5).