Prisons Act 1981 (WA)

Western Australia

Western Australia

Prisons Act 1981

An Act to make provision for the establishment, management, control, and security of prisons, the custody and welfare of prisoners and for related matters and to repeal the Prisons Act 1903.

This Act may be cited as the Prisons Act 1981.

This Act shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

• (1)

  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears — 

absence permit has the meaning given to that term in section 83(2);

bodily fluid includes semen, blood and saliva;

chief executive officer means chief executive officer of the Department;

contract means a contract entered into under section 15B;

contractor means a person who has entered into a contract with the chief executive officer;

Department means the department of the Government principally assisting the Minister with the administration of this Act;

District Court judge means a judge, an acting judge or an auxiliary judge of The District Court of Western Australia;

Family Court judge means a judge or an acting judge of the Family Court of Western Australia;

high‑level security work means —

• (a)

  work specified in section 15M as high‑level security work; and

• (b)

  work declared as high‑level security work under section 15N;

independent prison visitormeans a person who is appointed to be an independent prison visitor under section 39 of the Inspector of Custodial Services Act 2003;

infectious disease means any of the following —

• (a)

  Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection;

• (b)

  Hepatitis B;

• (c)

  Hepatitis C;

• (d)

  any other prescribed disease capable of being transmitted by the transfer of bodily fluid;

judge of the Supreme Court includes an acting judge or auxiliary judge of the Supreme Court;

judicial body means a court, tribunal or other body or person that has judicial or quasi judicial functions or otherwise acts judicially, and includes —

• (a)

  a Royal Commission under the Royal Commissions Act 1968; and

• (b)

  the Corruption and Crime Commission established under the Corruption, Crime and Misconduct Act 2003;

lock‑up includes a place prescribed as a lock‑up for the purposes of the Court Security and Custodial Services Act 1999;

medical officer means a person who is appointed or engaged as a medical officer referred to in section 6(3) or (4);

medical practitioner means a person —

• (a)

  who is registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the medical profession; and

• (b)

  who has current entitlement to practise under that Act;

officer means a person appointed or deemed to have been appointed for the purposes of this Act under, or as referred to in, section 6 or under section 13;

permit means a permit issued under section 15P to do high‑level security work;

prison means — 

• (a)

  the prisons, gaols, and penal outstation declared to be prisons by section 4; and

• (b)

  every…