Div 7Release of prisoners from prison or home detention

Division 7—Release of prisoners from prison or home detention 38—Release of prisoner from prison or home detention (1) Subject to this Act, a prisoner (other than a remand prisoner) will be released from the correctional institution in which the prisoner is being detained on the day on which the prisoner's sentence of imprisonment expires, unless released earlier under any other provision of this Act, or under any other Act or law. (2) Subject to subsection (3), the CE may, by instrument in writing, authorise the release of a prisoner from prison or from home detention on any day during the period of 30 days preceding the day on which the prisoner is due, or would have been due, to be released from prison pursuant to any other provision of this Act. (3) Subsection (2) does not apply in relation to a prisoner who is serving a term of imprisonment for default in payment of a pecuniary sum. (3a) If— (a) the Board orders the release of a prisoner from prison or home detention on parole on a specified date; and (b) pursuant to subsection (2), the CE authorises the release of the prisoner before that specified date, the release of the prisoner on the authority of the CE will be on parole subject to the conditions imposed under this Act. pecuniary sum has the same meaning as in the Sentencing Act 2017. 39—Time of release from prison (1) A prisoner must be released from the correctional institution in which the prisoner is being detained as near as practicable to 10 a.m. on the day of the prisoner's release. (3) Where a contempt prisoner purges his or her contempt or complies with the court order for payment of a pecuniary sum, and does so between 5 p.m. on one day and 9 a.m. on the next day, the manager of the correctional institution is not, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or any other Act or law, required to release the prisoner from the institution until that next day, at some time after 10 a.m. 39A—Delivery of property and money to prisoner on release Where a prisoner is released from prison on home detention or parole, or on the expiration or extinguishment of his or her sentence of imprisonment, the CE must, as soon as reasonably practicable, hand over to the prisoner any personal property held on the prisoner's behalf, and must pay to the prisoner any money held to the prisoner's credit pursuant to this Act— (a) in a lump sum; or (b) in the case of a prisoner released on parole subject to the supervision of a community corrections officer, in a lump sum, or in such instalments payable during the period of supervision as the community corrections officer may determine. 39B—Manner in which former prisoner's personal property is to be dealt with (1) Where a former prisoner has left any personal property in a correctional institution in which he or she was at some time detained, the CE must give a written notice to the former prisoner, sent by post to his or her last known address, setting out particulars of the personal property and of the place at which it may be collected. (2) If the former prisoner fails to collect the personal property within three months of being given a notice under subsection (1), the CE must deal with the property in the following manner: (a) where the property consists solely of items that would, in the opinion of the CE, be of negligible monetary value and of no sentimental value to the former prisoner, the CE may dispose of the property in such manner as the CE thinks fit; and (b) in any other case— (i) if the whereabouts of the former prisoner is known to the CE, the CE must cause the property to be delivered to the former prisoner except where it is not practicable to do so, in which case the CE may dispose of the property in such manner as the CE thinks fit; or (ii) if the whereabouts of the former prisoner is, after reasonable inquiries, unknown to the CE, the CE may dispose of the property in such manner as the CE thinks fit. (3) Money received from the sale of any personal property pursuant to this section will be paid into the General Revenue of the State. 39C—Certain prohibited items not to be returned to prisoners Nothing in this Division requires the delivery or return to a person of any item of personal property the possession of which by that person is prohibited by law.