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CLAUSE NOTES
Corrections (Prisoner Remission) Amendment Bill 2017
Clause 1: Short title
Specifies the name of the proposed Act.
Clause 2: Commencement
Provides for the provisions of the Act to commence on a day or days to be proclaimed.
Clause 3: Principal Act
Provides that the Principal Act is the Corrections Act 1997.
Clause 4: Section 86 substituted - Remissions
Clause 4 repeals and replaces section 86 of the Principal Act.
The substituted section 86 (Remissions) provides:
section 86(1) which defines commencement day.
section 86(2) which provides that remission may only be granted in relation to sentences
of imprisonment under which the prisoner is serving all, or part of, in custody. The
substitution makes it is clear that remission is granted in relation to sentences of
imprisonment, but only when a person is in custody and only on the days that the person
is actually in custody.
section 86(3) which specifies the limitations on when remission may apply to a sentence,
including when:
a sentence was imposed before the commencement day of this legislation;
a prisoner is in custody under more than one sentence, if at least one of those
was imposed before the commencement day of this legislation;
a prisoner is under different sentences, for different parts of a continuous period
in custody, if at least one of the sentences was imposed on the prisoner before
the commencement day of this legislation.
that a wide range of existing sentencing options (singular, concurrent, cumulative) are
captured in the substituted section 86(3) and ultimately limits the application of remission
to a sentence or sentences imposed before the commencement date of this legislation.
section 86(4) which provides that remission is not to operate so as to reduce a prisoner’s
total period in custody, whether that is under one or more continuous sentences of
imprisonment, by more than 3 months. This means that a prisoner may only ever receive
a maximum of 3 months remission on their ‘total term’ of imprisonment, regardless of
the number of sentences they are serving that term of imprisonment for.
Clause 5: Section 87 amended (Special management days)
This clause amends section 87 of the Corrections Act 1997by removing the term ‘Special
Remission’ and inserting the term ‘Special Management Days’. This amendment removes the
connection to remission.
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Clause 5 substitutes section 87(1) by providing that the granting of special management days is
subject to the regulations relating to the section and inserts that special management days will
apply to a sentence or sentences of imprisonment which the prisoner is in custody for, or that
form part of a continuous period in custody.
This clause inserts subsection (1A) into the Principal Act to provide that a prisoner who is granted
special management days in accordance with 87(1) is entitled to have the total period of their
time in custody under a sentence or sentences of imprisonment reduced by the number of days
granted to them.
Clause 6: Section 90 amended (Regulations)
Section 90(2) of the Corrections Act 1997 provides the regulation making power for remission
and sets out when and why remission may be granted.
This clause amends section 90(2) of the Principal Act to provide that the mitigation or remission
of a prisoner’s sentence as an incentive to or reward for, good conduct while the prisoner is in
custody, or for engaging, while the prisoner is in custody, in activities that are rehabilitative or of
a kind approved by the Director.
The substitution stipulates that a prisoner must be ‘in custody’ in order to be considered for
remission and sets limits on what remission may granted for; ‘as an incentive to, or reward for, good
conduct, or for engaging in activities that are rehabilitative or of a kind approved by the Director’.
This clause inserts paragraph (da) which provides for section 87 ‘special management days’ to be
considered under the regulation making power for remission. Section 87 is a self-contained
provision, providing the circumstances in which ‘special management days’ may be granted and is
not the same as remission. The addition of paragraph (da) means that section 90(2)(d) provides
for regulations to be made in respect to section 86 ‘remissions’ and section 87 ‘special
management days’ as two separate provisions.
Clause 7: Section 92A inserted
Section 92 of the Corrections Act 1997 provides for Savings and Transitional provisions.
This clause amends section 92 of the Principal Act by inserting in Part 9, section 92A which
provides for savings and transitional provisions in relation to Corrections (Prisoner Remission)
Amendment Act 2017.
Clause 8: Repeal of Act
This automatically repeals the amending legislation after the Act commences. The provisions that
the amending legislation inserts into the Principal Act still remain in force after the repeal of the
Amending Act.
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