{"id":"C1923A00014","name":"Removal of Prisoners (Territories) Act 1923","slug":"removal-of-prisoners-territories-act-1923","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"14 of 1923","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":599,"registerId":"C2008C00388","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2008-07-04","status":"InForce","reasons":[{"affect":"Amend","markdown":"sch 4 (items 440-442) of the [Statute Law Revision Act 2008](/C2008A00073)","dateChanged":null,"amendedByTitle":null,"affectedByTitle":{"name":"Statute Law Revision Act 2008","year":2008,"number":73,"titleId":"C2008A00073","provisions":"sch 4 (items 440-442)","seriesType":"Act","optionalSeriesNumber":null}}],"registeredAt":"2008-07-23T08:26:11.000Z"},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title [see Note 1]","content":"#### 1 Short title \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Removal of Prisoners (Territories) Act 1923.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 2 Interpretation\n\n  (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> Constable means a member or special member of the Australian Federal Police or a member of the police force of a State or Territory.\n\n> Criminal lunatic means a person detained in custody by reason of his or her having been charged with an offence, and either found to have been insane at the time of the commission of the offence, or found or certified or otherwise lawfully proved to be unfit, on the ground of his or her insanity, to be tried for the offence, and includes a person convicted of an offence and afterwards certified or otherwise lawfully proved to be insane, but does not include an aboriginal native of a Territory.\n\n> Prisoner means any person sentenced to imprisonment in a Territory, but does not include an aboriginal native of a Territory.\n\n> This Act includes the regulations made thereunder.\n\n  (2) For the purposes of this Act, where the sentence of a person who has been sentenced to death in a Territory has been commuted to a term of imprisonment, that person shall be deemed to have been sentenced to imprisonment in the Territory for that term.\n  (3) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, a reference to the sentence of a prisoner shall, in relation to a prisoner who, by reason of his or her having been declared to be a habitual criminal, may be or is being detained in prison after the expiration of the term of imprisonment imposed upon him or her, be read as including a reference to any detention that he or she is liable to undergo by reason of his or her having been so declared.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Exercise of powers of Administrator where no office of Administrator [see Note 2]","content":"#### 2A Exercise of powers of Administrator where no office of Administrator \\[see Note 2\\]\n\n  (1) Where there is no office of Administrator in respect of a Territory, the Governor‑General may, by order published in the Gazette:\n    (a) declare that an office specified in the order shall, for the purposes of the application of this Act in relation to that Territory, be substituted for the office of Administrator; or\n    (b) authorize a person named in the order to exercise and perform, in relation to that Territory, the powers and functions of an Administrator under this Act.\n  (2) A reference in this Act to the Administrator of a Territory shall, in relation to a Territory in respect of which an order is in force under the last preceding subsection, be read as a reference to:\n    (a) the person occupying, or acting in, the office specified in the order; or\n    (b) the person named in the order;\n  as the case may be.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Removal of prisoners from Territories in certain cases","content":"#### 3 Removal of prisoners from Territories in certain cases\n\n  (1) Where it appears to the Administrator of a Territory other than the Northern Territory:\n    (a) that, by reason of there being no prison in the Territory in which the prisoner can properly undergo his or her sentence, the removal of the prisoner is expedient for his or her safer custody or for the more efficient carriage of his or her sentence into effect; or\n    (b) that it is likely that the life of a prisoner undergoing his or her sentence in the Territory will be endangered or his or her health permanently impaired by further imprisonment in the Territory; or\n    (c) that the offence was committed wholly or partly beyond the limits of the Territory; or\n    (d) that the prisoner belongs to a class of persons who under the law of the Territory are subject to removal under this Act;\n  he or she may recommend to the Governor‑General that the prisoner be removed to a State or another Territory, there to undergo his or her sentence or the residue thereof.\n  (2) Upon the receipt of a recommendation in pursuance of the last preceding subsection the Governor‑General may, with the concurrence of the Government of the State or Territory to which it is proposed to remove the prisoner, order the prisoner to be removed to that State or Territory, there to undergo his or her sentence or the residue thereof.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Warrant for removal of prisoner","content":"#### 4 Warrant for removal of prisoner\n\n  (1) Where the removal of a prisoner from a Territory is ordered in pursuance of this Act, the Governor‑General, or the Administrator of the Territory may, by warrant under his or her hand, direct the prisoner to be removed to the State or Territory mentioned in the order, and for that purpose to be delivered into the custody of the person named or described in the warrant, and to be held in custody and conveyed to that State or Territory, there to undergo his or her sentence or the residue thereof, until returned in pursuance of this Act or discharged.\n  (2) Where a prisoner is ordered or required to be returned to the Territory from which he or she was removed, the Governor‑General or the Governor of the State or the Administrator of the Territory in which he or she is undergoing his or her sentence may, by warrant under his or her hand, direct the prisoner to be returned to the Territory from which he or she was removed, and for that purpose to be delivered into the custody of the person named or described in the warrant, and to be held in custody and conveyed to the Territory from which he or she was removed, there to undergo the residue of his or her sentence, or to be discharged or to be tried for an offence, as the case requires.\n  (3) Every warrant issued in pursuance of this section shall be forthwith executed according to the tenor thereof.\n  (4) Every warrant purporting to be issued in pursuance of this section, and to be under the hand of the Governor‑General or the Governor of a State or the Administrator of a Territory, shall be received in evidence in any Court of a State or Territory without further proof, and shall be evidence of the facts therein stated, and all acts done in pursuance of any such warrant shall be deemed to have been authorized by law.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Dealing with removed prisoner","content":"#### 5 Dealing with removed prisoner\n\n  (1) Every prisoner removed in pursuance of this Act shall, until he or she is returned in pursuance of this Act, be dealt with in the State or Territory to which he or she is removed, in like manner as if his or her sentence (with such variation of the conditions thereof as is prescribed by regulations made under paragraph (b) of section fourteen of this Act) had been duly awarded in that State or Territory, and shall be subject accordingly to all laws in force in that State or Territory.\n  (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the last preceding subsection, the conviction, judgment, and sentence of a prisoner may be questioned in the Territory from which he or she has been removed in the same manner as if he or she had not been removed, and his or her sentence may be remitted, and his or her discharge ordered, in the same manner and by the same authority as if he or she had not been removed.\n  (3) The officer in charge of any prison, on request by any person having the custody of a prisoner under a warrant issued in pursuance of this Act, and on payment or tender of such amount for expenses as the Government of the State or Territory in which the prison is situated determines, shall receive the prisoner and detain him or her for such time as is requested by the person for the purpose of the proper execution of the warrant.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Remission of portion of imprisonment","content":"#### 6 Remission of portion of imprisonment\n\n  Where, in pursuance of this Act, the conditions of a sentence of imprisonment appear to the Governor‑General to be more severe in the State or Territory to which a prisoner is removed than in the Territory from which he or she was removed, the Governor‑General may remit a portion of the sentence so that the punishment undergone by the prisoner may not, in the opinion of the Governor‑General, be more severe than the punishment to which the prisoner was originally sentenced, and the sentence of imprisonment shall, so long as the prisoner remains in the State or Territory to which he or she is removed, be carried into effect as if the conditions thereof, as so varied, were the conditions of the original sentence.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"7A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Sentence ceases to run while escaped prisoner at large","content":"#### 7A Sentence ceases to run while escaped prisoner at large\n\n  A person who commits an offence against subsection 7(2) by escaping shall, upon being returned to lawful custody, undergo, in addition to any punishment imposed for that offence, the punishment that the person would have undergone if the person had not escaped.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"7B","sectionType":"section","heading":"Arrest of prisoner unlawfully at large","content":"#### 7B Arrest of prisoner unlawfully at large\n\n  (1) A constable may, without warrant, apprehend a person whom the constable, with reasonable cause, suspects is a prisoner unlawfully at large.\n  (2) The constable shall forthwith take the person before a Magistrate.\n  (3) If the Magistrate is satisfied that the person is a prisoner unlawfully at large, the Magistrate may issue a warrant:\n    (a) authorising any constable to convey the person to a prison specified in the warrant; and\n    (b) directing that the person, having been conveyed to that prison in accordance with the warrant, be detained in prison to undergo the term of imprisonment or other detention that the person is required by law to undergo.\n  (4) In this section, prisoner unlawfully at large means a person who is at large (otherwise than by reason of having escaped from lawful custody) at a time when the person is required by law to be in custody pursuant to this Act or a warrant issued pursuant to this Act.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Return of removed prisoner","content":"#### 8 Return of removed prisoner\n\n  (1) Where a prisoner has been removed in pursuance of this Act, the Governor‑General, or the Government of the State or Territory to which the prisoner has been so removed, may order the prisoner, for the purpose of undergoing the residue of his or her sentence, to be returned to the Territory from which he or she was removed.\n  (2) If the Governor‑General, or the Government of the State or Territory to which a prisoner is removed under this Act, requires the prisoner to be returned for discharge to the Territory from which he or she was removed, the prisoner shall, as prescribed, be returned to that Territory for the purpose of being there discharged at the expiration of his or her sentence.\n  (3) Where:\n    (a) a person has been removed to a State or Territory in pursuance of this Act; and\n    (b) he or she is discharged in that State or Territory at the expiration of his or her sentence or he or she is released from custody in that State or Territory in pursuance of a licence granted under section eight A of this Act or an order made under section ten A of this Act; and\n    (c) his or her return to the Territory from which he or she was removed would not result, or be likely to result, in a failure by him or her to comply with a condition applicable to such a licence or to such an order; and\n    (d) his or her return to the Territory from which he or she was removed would not be unlawful;\n  he or she is entitled, on making application in such manner and within such time as is prescribed, to be sent free of cost from the place at which he or she was discharged or released from custody to the Territory from which he or she was removed.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"8AA","sectionType":"section","heading":"Relationship between this Act and Transfer of Prisoners Act 1983","content":"#### 8AA Relationship between this Act and Transfer of Prisoners Act 1983\n\n  (1) A person shall not be removed from a Territory pursuant to a warrant under subsection 4(1), if the Attorney‑General has directed in writing that this Act is not to apply in relation to that removal.\n  (2) The Attorney‑General shall not give a direction under subsection (1) in relation to the removal of a person from a Territory unless the Attorney‑General is of the opinion that action to remove the person from the Territory should be taken under the Transfer of Prisoners Act 1983.\n  (3) The Attorney‑General may, either generally or as otherwise provided in the instrument of delegation, by writing signed by the Attorney‑General, delegate to an officer of the Attorney‑General’s Department the power of the Attorney‑General to give a direction under subsection (1).\n  (4) A power delegated under subsection (3), when exercised by the delegate, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been exercised by the Attorney‑General.\n  (5) A delegation under subsection (3) does not prevent the exercise of a power by the Attorney‑General.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"8A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Licences for prisoners to be at large","content":"#### 8A Licences for prisoners to be at large\n\n  (1) In this section:\n\n> licence means a licence to be at large granted under the next succeeding subsection.\n\n> prescribed authority means:\n\n    (a) a person who holds office as a Chief, Police, Stipendiary, Resident or Special Magistrate of a State and in respect of whom an arrangement in force under subsection (15) of this section is applicable; or\n    (b) a person who holds office as a Chief, Police, Stipendiary, Resident or Special Magistrate, or a District Officer or Assistant District Officer, of a Territory.\n\n> the prescribed period, in relation to a licence, means:\n\n    (a) if the prisoner to whom the licence was granted was, at the time when the licence was granted, serving a term of imprisonment—the period commencing on the day on which the licence was granted and ending on the day which, if no remissions of his or her sentence were granted, would be the last day of that term; or\n    (b) if the prisoner to whom the licence was granted was, at the time when the licence was granted, being detained in prison by reason of his or her having been declared to be a habitual criminal—the period of three years commencing on the day on which the licence was granted.\n  (2) Where a prisoner has been removed to a State or Territory in pursuance of this Act (not being a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (2) of section nineteen A of the Crimes Act 1914‑1960), the Governor‑General may, if he or she thinks it proper so to do in the circumstances, grant to the prisoner by writing under his or her hand, a licence to be at large.\n  (3) A licence is sufficient authority for the release from prison of the person to whom it is granted.\n  (4) A licence is subject to such conditions, if any, as are specified in the licence.\n  (5) The Governor‑General may, at any time before the expiration of the prescribed period, by writing under his or her hand:\n    (a) vary or revoke a condition of a licence or impose additional conditions; or\n    (b) revoke a licence.\n  (6) The varying of a condition, or the imposing of an additional condition, under the last preceding subsection does not have effect until notice thereof has been given to the person to whom the licence was granted, being notice given before the expiration of the prescribed period.\n  (7) Where:\n    (a) a licence granted to a person is revoked; or\n    (b) the person to whom a licence has been granted has, during the prescribed period, failed to comply with a condition of the licence or there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that he or she has, during that period, failed to comply with a condition of the licence;\n  a constable may, without warrant, arrest the person.\n  (8) Where a constable arrests a person in pursuance of the last preceding subsection on a ground specified in paragraph (b) of that subsection, the constable shall, as soon as practicable, take that person before a prescribed authority and, if the prescribed authority is satisfied that that person without lawful excuse failed to comply with a condition of the licence granted to him or her, the prescribed authority shall cancel the licence.\n  (9) A person brought before a prescribed authority under the last preceding subsection shall, unless the prescribed authority otherwise directs, be kept in custody until the prescribed authority has determined the matter.\n  (10) Subject to subsection (12) of this section, where a licence granted to a person who, at the time of the grant, was serving a term of imprisonment is revoked or cancelled, the person may be detained in prison, as if the licence had not been granted, to undergo imprisonment for a period equal to the part of the term that he or she had not served at the time when he or she was released from prison in pursuance of the licence and, in the case of a person who has been declared to be a habitual criminal, he or she may, on the expiration of that term, be further detained in prison as if the licence had not been granted.\n  (11) Subject to the next succeeding subsection, where a licence granted to a person who, at the time of the grant, was being detained in prison by reason of his or her having been declared to be a habitual criminal is revoked or cancelled, the person may be detained in prison as if the licence had not been granted.\n  (12) Where a prescribed authority cancels a licence under subsection (8) of this section, the person to whom the licence was granted may appeal to the Supreme Court of a Territory or to a prescribed Federal Court against the cancellation and the Court shall:\n    (a) if it is satisfied that the ground on which the licence was cancelled has been established—confirm the cancellation; or\n    (b) if it is not so satisfied—order that the cancellation cease to have effect.\n  (13) An appeal under the last preceding subsection shall be by way of re‑hearing, but the Court may have regard to any evidence given before the prescribed authority.\n  (14) For the purposes of the preceding provisions of this section, the Governor‑General means the Governor‑General acting with the advice of the Minister.\n  (15) The Governor‑General may arrange with the Governor of a State for the performance by persons who hold office as Chief, Police, Stipendiary, Resident or Special Magistrates in that State of the functions of a prescribed authority under this section.\n  (16) Notice of an arrangement under the last preceding subsection shall be published in the Gazette.","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of Act to criminal lunatics","content":"#### 9 Application of Act to criminal lunatics\n\n  (1) The preceding provisions of this Act, other than the last preceding section, shall, so far as applicable, apply to a person in custody as a criminal lunatic in like manner as they apply to a prisoner undergoing sentence of imprisonment, and, subject to this Act, all laws in force in the State or Territory in which a criminal lunatic, who is removed or returned, is for the time being in custody under a warrant issued in pursuance of this Act, shall apply to the criminal lunatic as if he or she had become a criminal lunatic in that State or Territory.\n  (2) Where a person, who is a criminal lunatic and is unfit to be tried for an offence, is removed in pursuance of this Act, and the Governor‑General or the Government of the State or Territory to which the person was removed, or the Government of the Territory from which he or she was removed, considers that the person has become sufficiently sane to be tried for the offence, and requires him or her to be returned for trial to the Territory from which he or she was removed, he or she shall in accordance with this Act be returned as a prisoner to that Territory for the purpose of being there tried for that offence.","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of Act to existing prisoners and criminal lunatics","content":"#### 10 Application of Act to existing prisoners and criminal lunatics\n\n  This Act shall apply to a prisoner who has been convicted, and to a criminal lunatic who has become a criminal lunatic before the commencement of this Act, as if he or she had been convicted or become a criminal lunatic after the commencement of this Act.","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"10A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Release of criminal lunatics","content":"#### 10A Release of criminal lunatics\n\n  (1) Where a criminal lunatic (being a person who was found to be insane at the time of the commission of the offence with which he or she was charged but not being a person to whom subsection (1) of section twenty B of the Crimes Act 1914‑1960 applies) has been removed to a State or Territory in pursuance of this Act, the Governor‑General may, by writing under his or her hand, order that he or she be released from custody either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as are specified in the order.\n  (2) Where, under the last preceding subsection, the Governor‑General orders that a person be released from custody subject to conditions, the Governor‑General may, at any time, by writing under his or her hand:\n    (a) vary or revoke all or any of the conditions or impose additional conditions; or\n    (b) except where the Governor‑General has revoked all the conditions—revoke the order.\n  (3) Where an order made in respect of a person under subsection (1) of this section is revoked or the person fails to comply with a condition of such an order, the person may, without warrant, be arrested by any constable and may be detained in custody as if the order under subsection (1) of this section had not been made.\n  (4) Upon the Governor‑General making an order under subsection (1) of this section that a person be released from custody unconditionally or upon the Governor‑General revoking all the conditions applicable to an order under which a person has been released from custody, this Act, and any law of the Territory from which he or she was removed that authorizes his or her detention in custody by reason of his or her having been found to be insane at the time of the commission of the offence with which he or she was charged, ceases to apply to him or her in relation to that offence.\n  (5) For the purposes of this section, the Governor‑General means the Governor‑General acting with the advice of the Minister.","sortOrder":14},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Evidence of act of Government of State or Territory or of Governor‑General","content":"#### 11 Evidence of act of Government of State or Territory or of Governor‑General\n\n  (1) The concurrence of and any requirement by the Government of a State or Territory may be given or made:\n    (a) in the case of a State, by the Governor in Council; or\n    (b) in the case of a Territory, by the Administrator; or\n    (c) in either case, by such other authority as is from time to time provided by the law of the State or Territory.\n  (2) The concurrence or requirement shall be signified by writing under the hand of the Governor of a State or the Administrator of a Territory, as the case may be, or any other officer appointed in that behalf by the law of the State or Territory.\n  (3) Any writing purporting to signify the concurrence or requirement and to be signed by the Governor or Administrator or other officer for the time being, shall be conclusive evidence that the concurrence or requirement has been duly given or made.\n  (4) Any writing purporting to be under the hand of the Governor‑General and to order the removal of a prisoner or criminal lunatic from a Territory shall be conclusive evidence that the order has been duly given by the Governor‑General.\n  (5) Every writing mentioned in this section shall be admissible in evidence in any Court of a State or Territory.","sortOrder":15},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Cost of removal","content":"#### 12 Cost of removal\n\n  (1) The cost of the removal of any prisoner or criminal lunatic under this Act and of his or her maintenance while in confinement and of his or her return and of his or her being sent, after discharge or release from custody, to any place, shall be borne by the Commonwealth or, where the expenditure of the Territory from which the prisoner or criminal lunatic is removed is defrayed from the revenues of that Territory, by the Territory from which he or she is removed, and shall be paid in such manner as is arranged between the Governor‑General and the Governments of the States and Territories concerned.\n  (2) Nothing in this Act shall affect any power to recover the whole or any part of the cost from the property of the prisoner or criminal lunatic.","sortOrder":16},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"State or Territory laws for carrying Act into effect","content":"#### 13 State or Territory laws for carrying Act into effect\n\n  If any law is made in any State or Territory:\n    (a) for determining the authority by whom and the manner in which any power or concurrence under this Act is to be exercised or given; or\n    (b) for the payment of the costs incurred in the removal, maintenance, return, or sending back, after discharge, of a prisoner or criminal lunatic; or\n    (c) for dealing in the State or Territory with prisoners or criminal lunatics removed thereto in pursuance of this Act; or\n    (d) for making any class of prisoners or criminal lunatics subject to removal under this Act; or\n    (e) otherwise in any manner for the carrying of this Act or any part thereof into effect as regards the State or Territory;\n  the Governor‑General may, for the purposes of this Act, direct that the law shall with or without modification or alteration be recognized and given effect to throughout the Commonwealth and the Territories as if it were part of this Act.","sortOrder":17},{"sectionNumber":"14","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 14 Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for giving effect to this Act, and in particular for providing for:\n    (a) the removal, return and discharge of prisoners and criminal lunatics under this Act; and\n    (b) varying the conditions of a sentence of imprisonment passed in a Territory, where those conditions differ from the conditions of a sentence of imprisonment in the State or Territory to which the prisoner is removed, with a view to bringing them into conformity with the latter conditions:\n  Provided that no such variation shall increase the term of the sentence of imprisonment.","sortOrder":18}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original 1923 Act was a simple mechanism for moving prisoners from territories lacking prisons. Over a century of amendments have significantly expanded scope: added 'criminal lunatics' (section 9), introduced licence/parole systems (section 8A), added release mechanisms for mentally ill offenders (section 10A), created interaction with modern transfer schemes (section 8AA), added escape and arrest provisions (sections 7A, 7B), and established complex administrative arrangements. The Act has evolved from basic prisoner logistics into a comprehensive cross-jurisdictional corrections and mental health framework, though it retains archaic language and discriminatory exclusions from its original era."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple defined terms in section 2 including 'criminal lunatic' with layered definitions involving findings of insanity, unfitness to stand trial, and post-conviction insanity","Extensive cross-referencing to other legislation including Crimes Act 1914-1960 and Transfer of Prisoners Act 1983","Nested conditional logic in section 8A regarding licences to be at large, with multiple sub-conditions for habitual criminals vs regular prisoners","Dual pathways for removal depending on whether Attorney-General directs use of Transfer of Prisoners Act 1983 instead (section 8AA)","Complex machinery provisions for warrants, returns, and administrative arrangements between Commonwealth, States and Territories","Multiple exceptions and carve-outs including the exclusion of 'aboriginal natives' and specific treatment of death sentences commuted to imprisonment","Interaction between federal and state/territory legal systems requiring concurrence of governments"],"plain_english_summary":"This law lets the federal government move prisoners and mentally ill offenders out of Australia's territories (like Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, etc.) and into states or other territories to serve their sentences.\n\n**Why this exists:** Many territories don't have proper prisons or medical facilities. This law solves that by allowing transfers to places with better facilities.\n\n**Who can be moved:**\n- Regular prisoners sentenced in a territory\n- \"Criminal lunatics\" (an outdated term for people found not guilty due to mental illness, or unfit to stand trial because of mental illness)\n- **Important exclusion:** Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from territories cannot be moved under this law\n\n**When someone can be moved:**\n- There's no suitable prison in the territory\n- The prisoner's health or life is at risk\n- The crime happened partly outside the territory\n- The person belongs to a class that can be removed under local laws\n\n**How it works:**\n- The territory's Administrator recommends removal\n- The Governor-General orders it (with agreement from the receiving state/territory)\n- A warrant is issued for transfer\n- The prisoner serves their sentence in the new location as if sentenced there\n\n**Special rules:**\n- Prisoners can get early release on licence (like parole) granted by the Governor-General\n- Criminal lunatics can be released with conditions\n- If conditions are broken, they go back to prison\n- The Attorney-General can block removals if the newer Transfer of Prisoners Act 1983 should apply instead\n- Costs are paid by the Commonwealth or the original territory\n\n**Key point:** This is old legislation (1923) that has been updated over time but still contains outdated language like \"criminal lunatic\" and discriminatory exclusions for Aboriginal people."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act originally focused narrowly on the straightforward physical transfer of prisoners and criminal lunatics between Territories and States for custodial purposes. Over time, its scope expanded considerably to include: a supervised release (licence/parole) system for transferred prisoners (section 8A), a conditional release regime for criminal lunatics (section 10A), arrest powers for constables (sections 7B and 8A(7)), an appeal mechanism to the Supreme Court (section 8A(12)), and an explicit interface with the later Transfer of Prisoners Act 1983 (section 8AA) including Attorney-General override powers and delegation of those powers. What began as a simple administrative transfer mechanism grew into a partial custodial management framework covering release, supervision, breach, arrest, and appeal — functions more typically found in dedicated corrections or parole legislation."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple defined terms with exclusions and nested meanings (e.g. 'criminal lunatic', 'prisoner', 'prescribed authority', 'the prescribed period', 'constable', 'licence') — approximately 10 defined terms across sections 2 and 8A","Cross-references to external legislation including the Transfer of Prisoners Act 1983 and the Crimes Act 1914-1960 (sections 8AA, 8A, 10A), requiring the reader to consult multiple Acts","Layered decision-making chain involving multiple authorities: Governor-General, Administrator, State Governor, Attorney-General, Magistrates, Supreme Court — all with different and overlapping powers","Conditional logic in section 8 (return entitlement) requiring four cumulative conditions to be satisfied simultaneously","Section 8A (licences) is internally complex with 16 subsections covering grant, conditions, variation, revocation, arrest, cancellation, appeal, and arrangements with States","Archaic drafting style with long, compounded sentences and cross-references using older legislative conventions (e.g. 'the last preceding subsection') that require careful reading","Transitional and interpretive provisions (sections 2(2), 2(3), 10) add layers of deemed meanings and retrospective application","Delegated legislation (regulations) adds an invisible layer of rules that must be read alongside the Act itself"],"plain_english_summary":"## Removal of Prisoners (Territories) Act 1923\n\nThis is a **century-old Commonwealth law** that allows prisoners and people detained as \"criminal lunatics\" (a now-archaic term meaning people found to be mentally unfit to stand trial, or insane at the time of an offence) to be **physically moved between Australian Territories, and from Territories to States**, for their imprisonment or detention.\n\n### Who does it affect?\n- **Prisoners** sentenced to imprisonment in a Commonwealth Territory (but *not* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people — a deeply troubling exclusion baked into the original law)\n- **Criminal lunatics** (people detained due to mental unfitness for trial or insanity findings) in Territories\n- **Administrators** of Territories (the official who governs a Territory on behalf of the Commonwealth) and State Governors\n- Police officers (called \"constables\") who may arrest escapees or those breaching licence conditions\n\n### What does it allow?\n\n- **Transfer out of a Territory**: The Administrator of a Territory can recommend to the Governor-General (Australia's head of state acting on ministerial advice) that a prisoner be moved to a State or another Territory if, for example:\n  - There's no suitable prison in the Territory\n  - The prisoner's health or life is at risk from continued imprisonment there\n  - The offence was partly committed outside the Territory\n\n- **Warrants for transfer**: Once approved, a formal legal document (a **warrant** — a written authority directing what must happen) is issued to move the prisoner. That warrant is legally binding and must be executed immediately.\n\n- **Treatment after transfer**: A moved prisoner is treated as if they were sentenced under the laws of the receiving State or Territory. However, their original conviction can still be challenged in the Territory where they were sentenced.\n\n- **Sentence adjustment**: If imprisonment conditions are harsher in the receiving location, the Governor-General can reduce (remit) part of the sentence so the punishment isn't more severe than originally intended.\n\n- **Licences to be \"at large\"**: The Governor-General can grant a moved prisoner a **licence** (essentially, supervised release — like parole) to live outside prison. This comes with conditions, can be revoked, and if breached, police can arrest the person without a warrant.\n\n- **Return home after release**: A moved prisoner who is discharged is entitled to be transported back to their home Territory at no cost, subject to certain conditions.\n\n- **Escaped prisoners**: If someone escapes, the time they spend on the run doesn't count toward their sentence — they must serve it when recaptured, on top of any punishment for the escape itself.\n\n- **Release of criminal lunatics**: The Governor-General can order the release (with or without conditions) of someone detained as a criminal lunatic who was moved to a State or Territory.\n\n### Relationship with other laws\nThe Act acknowledges a newer, separate law — the *Transfer of Prisoners Act 1983* — which can take precedence. The Attorney-General can direct that a particular transfer happen under that newer law instead of this one.\n\n### Why does it matter?\nThis Act fills a practical gap: Commonwealth Territories (like Christmas Island or Cocos (Keeling) Islands) may not have adequate prison facilities. The law ensures people sentenced in those Territories can be properly held and managed elsewhere in Australia. It is old, and some of its language — particularly the exclusion of Aboriginal Territorians and the term \"criminal lunatic\" — reflects deeply problematic colonial-era attitudes that have not been modernised."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"circular_definition","section":"Section 2(1) — Definition of 'This Act'","severity":"medium","reasoning":"A statute cannot coherently be defined to include its own delegated legislation without creating interpretive chaos. If regulations are 'part of this Act,' then s.14's power to make regulations 'not inconsistent with this Act' becomes self-referential — a regulation could simultaneously be the Act it must be consistent with. This also blurs the constitutional distinction between primary and subordinate legislation.","confidence":0.85,"description":"The definition of 'This Act' is a circular definition: 'This Act includes the regulations made thereunder.' The Act is defined to include its own regulations, which themselves can only exist by virtue of the Act. More critically, this creates a logical paradox: the regulations are subordinate legislation made *under* the Act, yet the Act's own interpretive provision declares they are part of the Act itself — meaning regulations simultaneously are and are not the Act."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Section 7A — Sentence ceases to run while escaped prisoner at large","severity":"high","reasoning":"The Act jumps from s.6 to s.7A and s.7B, with no s.7 present in the text. Section 7A purports to impose additional punishment on persons who commit 'an offence against subsection 7(2),' but there is no s.7 in the legislation as presented. This appears to be a drafting error — s.7 was likely repealed or omitted but s.7A was not updated accordingly. As a result, the trigger for s.7A's additional punishment is legally void: no person can be identified as having committed an offence under a provision that does not exist.","confidence":0.9,"description":"Section 7A refers to 'an offence against subsection 7(2)' but no Section 7 or subsection 7(2) exists anywhere in this Act. The section is a freestanding provision that references a ghost provision, making it impossible to know what conduct triggers its operation."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Section 7B(4) — Definition of 'prisoner unlawfully at large'","severity":"medium","reasoning":"It is deeply counterintuitive that a prisoner who has escaped — the paradigmatic case of being unlawfully at large — is excluded from the definition of 'prisoner unlawfully at large' for the purposes of s.7B. The drafting appears to intend that escapees are dealt with under s.7/7A (the now-missing escape offence provision), while s.7B catches administrative failures (e.g., failure to appear, administrative errors). However, with s.7 missing, this carve-out leaves escaped prisoners in a legal gap — they cannot be pursued under s.7B, and the provision meant to address them (s.7) does not exist.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The definition of 'prisoner unlawfully at large' in s.7B(4) explicitly excludes persons who have *escaped* from lawful custody — yet the entire evident purpose of an 'unlawfully at large' provision is to deal with escapees. The section creates a warrant-based mechanism to return prisoners who are unlawfully at large but carves out the very category of person most obviously 'at large' without authorisation."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 8A(1) — Definition of 'the prescribed period' paragraph (a)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"If a prisoner is on licence and earns sentence remissions (i.e., the actual sentence end date is brought forward), the 'prescribed period' by definition ends on the *unremitted* end date — which is later than the actual release. But if remissions shorten the sentence, the prisoner may be fully discharged before the prescribed period expires, meaning conditions remain technically enforceable against a free person. Conversely, the formula creates a period that may extend beyond actual release, subjecting a discharged person to licence conditions. This is an internal tension in the definition.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The 'prescribed period' for a licence is defined as ending on the day that 'if no remissions of his or her sentence were granted, would be the last day of that term.' This means the prescribed period could expire before the prisoner's actual release date if remissions are granted — undermining the Governor-General's ability to vary conditions under s.8A(5) and (6) which require action 'before the expiration of the prescribed period.'"},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"Section 10 — Application to existing prisoners and criminal lunatics","severity":"medium","reasoning":"While retrospective application of legislation is not automatically invalid in Australia, applying a removal power regime to persons already convicted creates a retroactive impossibility: those persons could not have ordered their affairs or anticipated removal when they were convicted. The provision is blunt — it does not distinguish between persons mid-sentence, persons already removed under prior law, or persons nearing release. It is a legal fiction that raises rule of law concerns, though it was common drafting practice in 1923.","confidence":0.65,"description":"Section 10 applies the Act retrospectively to persons convicted or who became criminal lunatics *before* the Act's commencement in 1923, treating them 'as if' they had been convicted or became criminal lunatics after commencement. This retroactive application means persons were subjected to a new legal regime (including removal powers) for conduct and status that predated the regime, without any savings or transitional protection."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 2(1) — Definition of 'Criminal lunatic' and 'Prisoner' (exclusion of aboriginal natives)","severity":"high","reasoning":"While this exclusion reflects the deeply racist legislative history of 1923 and is not a logical absurdity in the formal sense, it creates a legally incoherent framework: the Act purports to regulate the removal of prisoners from Territories comprehensively, yet an entire class of persons (Aboriginal Territorians) who are imprisoned is entirely outside its scope. This leaves a legal vacuum — what law governs their removal? The exclusion is internally inconsistent with the Act's stated comprehensive purpose. It is also worth noting this provision may interact problematically with the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, raising questions about whether this Act remains validly in force in this respect.","confidence":0.95,"description":"Both 'Criminal lunatic' and 'Prisoner' expressly exclude 'an aboriginal native of a Territory.' This means Aboriginal Territorians who are imprisoned or detained as criminal lunatics fall entirely outside the Act's framework — they cannot be removed, returned, or benefit from any of the Act's protections (including licence provisions, cost coverage, or right of return after discharge under s.8(3))."},{"type":"other","section":"Section 8A(14) — Governor-General acts with Ministerial advice","severity":"low","reasoning":"Under the Australian Constitution and the Acts Interpretation Act, the Governor-General ordinarily acts on advice. However, the explicit redefinition in s.8A(14) — but nowhere else in the Act — implies that in all other sections the Governor-General may act without Ministerial advice, or at minimum creates interpretive ambiguity. This is an internal inconsistency in the Act's constitutional architecture. Section 10A(5) contains an identical redefinition for s.10A, reinforcing the implication that other sections operate differently.","confidence":0.78,"description":"Section 8A(14) provides that 'for the purposes of the preceding provisions of this section, the Governor‑General means the Governor‑General acting with the advice of the Minister.' This redefinition of 'Governor-General' applies only within s.8A, creating an inconsistency with the rest of the Act where the Governor-General acts in the ordinary constitutional sense. The same individual decision-maker is defined differently in different sections of the same Act."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"Section 5(1) — Removed prisoner treated as if sentenced in receiving State/Territory","section_b":"Section 5(2) — Conviction may be questioned in originating Territory","confidence":0.85,"description":"Section 5(1) deems the prisoner's sentence to have been 'duly awarded' in the receiving State or Territory, making the prisoner subject to all laws of that jurisdiction. Section 5(2) simultaneously preserves the right to question the conviction, judgment and sentence in the *originating* Territory, and for the sentence to be remitted by the originating authority. This creates dual and potentially conflicting legal authority over the same prisoner: the receiving jurisdiction treats them as locally sentenced (s.5(1)), while the originating Territory retains power to remit or discharge them (s.5(2)) — with no mechanism to resolve conflicts between these parallel exercises of authority."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 4(3) — Warrant shall be forthwith executed","section_b":"Section 5(3) — Prison officer may detain prisoner for period requested","confidence":0.7,"description":"Section 4(3) mandates that every warrant 'shall be forthwith executed according to the tenor thereof' — imposing an immediate execution obligation. Section 5(3) allows a prison officer to receive and detain a prisoner 'for such time as is requested by the person [holding the warrant] for the purpose of the proper execution of the warrant.' This creates a tension: if the warrant must be executed forthwith (s.4(3)), there is no room for the intermediate holding detention contemplated by s.5(3), which implies a period of detention prior to full execution."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 8(2) — Prisoner to be returned for discharge to originating Territory","section_b":"Section 8(3) — Prisoner entitled to be sent to originating Territory free of cost after discharge in receiving jurisdiction","confidence":0.75,"description":"Section 8(2) provides that where the Governor-General or receiving Government 'requires' return for discharge, the prisoner shall be returned to the originating Territory to be discharged there. Section 8(3) presupposes and accommodates the opposite situation — the prisoner being discharged *in* the receiving State or Territory — and grants a right to be sent home free of cost. These two provisions create a contradiction: s.8(2) mandates return before discharge in certain circumstances, while s.8(3) creates entitlements premised on discharge occurring in the receiving jurisdiction, with no clear rule about which takes precedence or when each applies."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 8AA(1) — Attorney-General may direct this Act not to apply to a removal","section_b":"Section 4(3) — Warrant shall be forthwith executed","confidence":0.68,"description":"Section 4(3) requires every warrant issued under s.4 to be 'forthwith executed.' Section 8AA(1) allows the Attorney-General to direct, presumably after a warrant under s.4(1) is in contemplation or issued, that this Act is not to apply to a removal. If a warrant has already been issued and must be executed forthwith, an Attorney-General direction under s.8AA(1) purporting to halt that execution creates a direct conflict between a mandatory execution obligation and a supervisory override power. The Act does not specify at what point in the process the s.8AA(1) direction can be made."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"Section 14 — Regulations (proviso: no variation shall increase the term of imprisonment)","section_b":"Section 6 — Governor-General may remit a portion of sentence","confidence":0.62,"description":"Section 14's proviso ensures regulations cannot vary sentence conditions to *increase* the term of imprisonment. Section 6 grants the Governor-General a broad power to remit portions of sentences to equalise punishment severity. Read together, these provisions create an asymmetry: the Act allows reduction of sentence (s.6) but prohibits regulatory increase, yet s.6 itself operates on the premise that conditions in the receiving jurisdiction may be *more severe* — implying the effective punishment burden may increase without any term extension. The framework is internally inconsistent in how it conceptualises 'severity' versus 'term length.'"}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/removal-of-prisoners-territories-act-1923","history":"/api/acts/removal-of-prisoners-territories-act-1923/history","analysis":"/api/acts/removal-of-prisoners-territories-act-1923/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/removal-of-prisoners-territories-act-1923/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/removal-of-prisoners-territories-act-1923/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/removal-of-prisoners-territories-act-1923/documents"}}