When can prison staff open exempt mail?
Prison staff are not allowed to do routine inspections on exempt mail.
Exempt mail can only be inspected by the General Manager or a staff member they choose, and only when the General Manager believes it may contain:
- A banned item (contraband); or
- A substance that could pose an immediate danger to any person.
The General Manager’s belief must be reasonable.
If exempt mail is going to be opened, there are strict processes that must be followed. These come from section 47B of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic) and regulation 18 of the Corrections Regulations 2019 (Vic).
Process for mail from the Minister for Corrections, a member of Parliament, the Secretary or Commissioner of Corrections Victoria or an Independent Prison Visitor
Senior prison staff may require a person in prison to open mail to or from one of these exempt people/organisations so that it can be inspected.
If the person in prison refuses to open the letter or parcel, the senior prison officer can open it themselves to inspect it.
Important: Prison staff must only inspect the envelope, packet or parcel container. They must not read or censor any content of a letter or parcel.
Process for all other exempt mail
A senior prison officer wanting to inspect your mail or a parcel to or from any other exempt person/organisation (e.g. your lawyer or the Victorian Ombudsman) must hold it and notify the exempt person/organisation.
They can only inspect the mail or parcel:
- In the presence of you and a representative from the exempt person/organisation; or
- In another way that is agreed between the prison and the exempt person/organisation.
If prison staff have not heard back from the exempt person/organisation within 7 days of notifying them, they can require you to open the mail or parcel so they can inspect it.
Important: prison staff must only inspect the envelope, packet or parcel container. They must not read or censor any content of a letter or parcel.
This applies to mail to or from:
- Your lawyer or a lawyer who is giving you legal advice
- Victoria Police or any other law enforcement agency in Australia (like the Australian Federal Police or Australian Crime Commission)
- Victorian Ombudsman, including their staff
- Office of the Victorian Information Commission (OVIC)
- Health Complaints Commissioner (HCC)
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Commissioner (MHWC)
- Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC)
- Australian Human Rights Commission
- Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC)
- Victorian Inspectorate
- Justice Health
- Any Royal Commissions
- Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
- First People’s Assembly of Victoria
- Freedom of Information (FOI)
- Department of Social Services Mail Code 121112