South Australian Current Acts

CORRECTIONAL SERVICES ACT 1982 - SECT 35A

35A—Power to monitor or record prisoner communication

        (1)         Subject to this section, the CE may monitor or record a communication between a prisoner and another person.

        (2)         A party to a communication that may be monitored or recorded under this section is not required to be informed of the fact that the communication may be monitored or recorded, unless the communication occurs in circumstances (if any) prescribed by the regulations.

        (3)         The CE must not monitor or record a communication between a prisoner and—

            (a)         a legal practitioner who represents the prisoner, or who is communicating with the prisoner for the purpose of determining whether or not to represent the prisoner; or

            (ab)         the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption; or

            (b)         the Ombudsman; or

            (c)         the Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner; or

            (d)         a Member of Parliament; or

            (e)         a Visiting Tribunal; or

            (f)         an official visitor of the correctional institution in which the prisoner is detained; or

            (g)         a person or body of a class designated by the CE.

        (4)         The exemption under subsection (3) applies only if the CE has, before the communication occurs, authorised the communication.

        (5)         If a communication monitored or recorded under this section reveals information about an offence, the CE must give the information to the Commissioner of Police.

        (5a)         Despite any other Act or law (but without limiting subsection (5)), a communication monitored or recorded under this section or evidence or information revealed by such a communication may be provided to, and may be received and used by—

            (a)         —

                  (i)         law enforcement agencies; and

                  (ii)         prosecution authorities; and

                  (iii)         any other person or body prescribed by the regulations,

for the purposes of—

                  (iv)         any criminal investigation or proceedings; or

                  (v)         proceedings for the imposition of a penalty; or

                  (vi)         national security (within the meaning of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 of the Commonwealth); and

            (b)         the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption and the Office for Public Integrity for the purposes of any investigation or action in relation to suspected corruption, misconduct or maladministration in public administration.

        (5b)         Terms and expressions used in subsection (5a) and in the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Act 2012 have the same respective meanings in that subsection as they do in that Act.

        (6)         In this section—

"communication" includes conversation and a message, and any part of a conversation or message, whether—

            (a)         in the form of—

                  (i)         speech, music or other sounds; or

                  (ii)         data; or

                  (iii)         text; or

                  (iv)         visual images, whether or not animated; or

                  (v)         signals; or

            (b)         in any other form or in any combination of forms.