Corrections Management Act 2007

• Every person held in full-time detention at an ACT correctional centre, whether sentenced or on remand.
• Corrections officers, the director-general, and all staff who exercise functions under the Act.
• People held temporarily in police cells or court cells.
• Interstate detainees held or escorted in the ACT.
• Visitors to correctional centres (subject to visiting conditions, search powers, and directions under sections 143-149).
• Family members and accredited persons (lawyers, official visitors, human rights commissioners) seeking to communicate with detainees.
• Healthcare providers, including the appointed doctor (section 21) and health practitioners (section 22).

Director-general obligations:

• Ensure minimum living conditions are met as far as practicable (section 12).
• Ensure every admitted detainee is identified, given information about entitlements and obligations, and undergoes an initial assessment and health assessment (sections 65-68).
• Ensure corrections policies and operating procedures are available at every centre (section 14).
• Report on the use of force (section 142).
• Maintain a register of detainees (section 76).
• Ensure that doctors are available to each centre at least weekly (section 21(3)).

Corrections officer obligations:

• Exercise functions in accordance with the treatment principles in Chapter 2.
• Comply with use of force rules: force must be authorised, necessary, and applied in accordance with section 139. Any use of force must be reported (section 142).
• Conduct searches only in accordance with the applicable Division. Strip searches and body searches have particularly strict procedural requirements (Divisions 9.4.3 and 9.4.4).
• Not use restraints or weapons except as authorised under section 140.

Detainee obligations:

• Comply with directions from the director-general and corrections officers (section 152(a)).
• Not possess prohibited things (section 82).
• Not take alcohol or drugs into the body (section 152(d)).
• Comply with drug and alcohol testing directions (sections 134-135).
• Not engage in disrespectful or abusive conduct likely to provoke violence (section 152(i)).
• Comply with conditions of local and interstate leave (section 152(t)).

The Act vests a large number of discretionary powers in the director-general, including:

• Declaring a correctional centre emergency for up to 3 days (extendable) and exercising emergency powers such as restricting access, communications, and work (sections 26-27).
• Giving directions to individual detainees on welfare, safety, security, or compliance grounds (section 16).
• Directing segregation for safety, protection, health, or disciplinary investigation purposes (sections 88-93, 160).
• Delegating any function to a corrections officer (section 17).
• Directing drug and alcohol testing for detainees (section 134) and corrections officers (section 136).
• Authorising the use of restraints and weapons within the limits of section 140.
• Granting local leave (section 204) and approving interstate leave permits (section 208).
• Making corrections policies and operating procedures, with power to exclude sensitive security information from public disclosure under section 15.

The Minister may:

• Declare a place a correctional centre (section 24).
• Give written directions to the director-general about the exercise of functions (section 13).
• Declare a law of another State or Territory a corresponding corrections law (section 225).

The chief police officer may direct the transfer of a detainee from police custody to the director-general's custody (section 30(3)).

The Act's disciplinary system is internal to the correctional environment. Administrative penalties available after a finding of a disciplinary breach include (sections 184-186):

• Loss of one or more privileges specified by a presiding officer.
• Separate confinement for up to 3 days per breach (with additional limits applying to certain vulnerable groups).
• Reparation for damage caused.
• A fine not exceeding the equivalent of 7 days of the detainee's prison work earnings.

Criminal offences under the Act are limited. Visitors who take prohibited things into a correctional centre (section 145(3)) or who fail to comply with conditions or directions may be dealt with under section 147 and related provisions. Corrections officers who fail to return identity cards within 7 days of ceasing appointment commit a strict liability offence with a maximum penalty of 1 penalty unit (section 23(4)).

Section 223 provides a protection from liability for persons exercising functions under the Act in good faith and without recklessness. Civil liability shifts to the Territory.

Admission: On admission, the director-general must identify the detainee, inform them of their entitlements and obligations (in a language and form they can understand), conduct an initial assessment, and arrange a health assessment (sections 65-68). The value of a penalty unit for the Act is $160 for individuals and $810 for corporations (Legislation Act 2001, s 133, as noted in the republication preamble).

Police cell detention: A person may not be detained in a police cell for more than 36 hours (12 hours for a young detainee) without the chief police officer directing transfer to the director-general's custody (section 30(2)-(3)).

Segregation limits and reviews: Segregation directions under sections 90-92 must be reviewed on application. Section 97 provides an internal review process; sections 96 and 164 provide review rights for both safety/security segregation and investigative segregation. Segregation does not affect minimum living conditions (section 95).

Disciplinary process: An officer makes an initial report (section 156). An investigator is appointed (section 157). A presiding officer decides whether to lay a charge (sections 158-159). If admitted by the accused, the presiding officer may deal with it under section 167-168. If denied, an internal disciplinary inquiry proceeds under Chapter 11. Internal review is available under section 173-176. External review by an appointed adjudicator is available under sections 177-180.

Interstate leave: ACT leave permits must be notified to participating States (section 210). Interstate escort officers may exercise ACT corrections functions while escorting under an ACT permit (section 211).

The Act has explicit interactions with:

• Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT): The Act's treatment principles (sections 9-12) are required to be applied consistently with the Human Rights Act. The Preamble specifically invokes the HRA and international law.
• Crimes (Sentence Administration) Act 2005 (ACT): Application of the CMA is subject to Part 4.3 of the CSA Act (full-time detention in NSW) (section 6(2)). The disciplinary breach definition in section 152 cross-references the CSA Act for directions. Section 6(1)(a) applies the CMA to offenders detained under committal orders for the CSA Act.
• Children and Young People Act 2008 (ACT): Young detainees are excluded from most CMA provisions (section 6(3)). For police cell and court cell detention, CYPA provisions on searches and seizure apply to young detainees (section 31(3)).
• Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (ACT): Health practitioners exercising non-therapeutic functions (section 22) must be registered under that scheme.
• Crimes Act 1914 (Cth): Section 23Q of that Act (requiring humane treatment of persons under arrest) applies to offences against ACT laws punishable by over 12 months' imprisonment (noted in s 31A).
• Legislation Act 2001 (ACT): Governs instruments made under the CMA (corrections policies and operating procedures are notifiable instruments under s 14(2)), delegations, offence penalties, and editorial republication.

Minimum living conditions are not merely aspirational: Section 12 imposes a duty on the director-general to ensure minimum standards "as far as practicable." This is not a best-efforts obligation: the "as far as practicable" standard requires genuine effort, not mere intention. A detainee who is not provided with adequate food, health care, or hygiene can ground a complaint or judicial review on the basis of a breach of section 12 combined with the Human Rights Act 2004.

Section 223 protection does not cover recklessness: The civil liability protection under section 223 extends only to acts or omissions done "honestly and without recklessness." An officer who acts recklessly loses the protection, and personal civil liability may follow.

Segregation decisions are not immune from review: Segregation for safety, protective custody, or investigative purposes is all subject to internal review. Failure to notify a detainee of the grounds and right of review (as required by sections 91-92 and 162) may expose a direction to challenge.

Corrections policies and operating procedures are notifiable instruments: Section 14(2) requires every policy and procedure to be notified under the Legislation Act. If a policy is not properly notified, it may be unenforceable as a direction. The section 15 exclusion for sensitive security material still requires the notified version to include a statement that material has been excluded.

Strip search limits are strict: Division 9.4.3 restricts when strip searches may be conducted (sections 113A-113C) to circumstances of reasonable suspicion or where prudent for a specific reason. General routine strip searches are not authorised. The presence of corrections officers during a strip search is regulated by section 114.

Scenario 1: Detainee refuses a direction. A corrections officer gives a direction under section 16 to a detainee to return to their cell. The detainee refuses. This constitutes a disciplinary breach under section 152(a) (contravening a direction). The officer makes an initial report under section 156, and the matter enters the disciplinary process. Depending on the seriousness, the detainee may lose privileges, face separate confinement, or be required to pay reparation under section 184.

Scenario 2: Visitor attempts to bring a prohibited item into a centre. A family member attempts to bring cannabis into a correctional centre. Under section 145, taking a prohibited thing into a correctional centre is an offence. The corrections officer may direct the visitor to leave (section 148) and remove them (section 149). The matter may also be referred for criminal prosecution under a separate territory law.

Scenario 3: Director-general declares an emergency. A riot breaks out in a correctional centre. The director-general may declare an emergency under section 26 for up to 3 days, then renew as necessary for further periods. During the emergency, access may be restricted, communications may be cut, and police officers may exercise corrections functions under section 27(1)(d). Section 27(2) requires that all action is necessary and reasonable.

Scenario 4: Detainee challenges segregation. A detainee held in protective custody segregation under section 91 wishes to challenge the direction. They may apply for review under section 96 to the director-general. The reviewer must conduct a review under section 97. Separately, section 95 confirms that segregation cannot reduce living conditions below the minimum standards in section 12.

Scenario 5: Health assessment on admission. On admission to a correctional centre, the director-general must arrange a health assessment under section 68. If the health assessment reveals that the detainee requires mental health treatment, section 54A requires notice of a change in the detainee's status to be given when the detainee is transferred to a mental health facility. This ensures continuity of management under both the CMA and relevant mental health legislation.