Residential Visits Program – eligibility requirements

Part 3.04 of the Deputy Commissioner’s Instructions has a list of eligibility requirements for all Residential Visits Programs. They are:

• You are in a prison that has a residential visiting program
• You are serving a minimum prison sentence of 18 months
• You are employed (if you are fit to work and there is work is available)
• You have been at your current prison for at least 2 months (except if you have already been participating in the program at another prison)
• You do not have a maximum-security rating
• There is no intervention order protecting the visitor
• You are not serving or have not served a sentence for bringing contraband into a prison
• You do not have an active Identified Drug User (IDU) status
• You are not serving a sentence for sex offences (unless Forensic Intervention Services and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing support your participation)
• At the time you apply to be in the program, you have not been found guilty of a prison offence that can be punished with more than a reprimand in the last 3 months
• You are not waiting for a disciplinary hearing from a prison offence (you will need to wait until after the hearing)
• You are not currently charged with a prison offence that has been referred to police (you will need to wait until after the police make a decision about the charge)
• You are not already participating in a Custodial Community Permit Program (CCPP) which involves contact with your family
• Your visitor has not been banned for bringing contraband into a prison
• The visitor is not on parole or a Community Correction Order
• Your adult visitor consents to visiting
• Your child visitor has consent from their legal guardian
• Your application has been approved by the General Manager of your prison

Additional eligibility requirements

The additional eligibility requirements that apply to residential visits by children are:

• If you are not the primary carer of the child, you have already been in prison for at least 6 months and had regular contact visits with the child
• There is a suitable and willing adult who can be with the child at visits (unless the General Manager agrees the visit would not place the child/children at risk)
• The child is not in the care or custody of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) or another agency

The additional eligibility requirements that apply to residential visits by adult family members and partners are:

• You have already spent 18 months in custody before you apply
• You have already had regular contact visits with the visitor for at least 18 months before you apply
• If you are serving a sentence of 5 years of more, you are in the final third of your sentence
• If the relationship started during your time in prison, there is a ‘pressing re-integrative need’ for a residential visit

Important:

• If you are a Restricted Access Prisoner, you will need to apply to the General Manager to have any type of visits with children.
• If you are Special Category, High Profile or Major Offender, your application for the Residential Visits Program will need to be approved by the Deputy Commissioner of Custodial Operations.