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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 4 Hansard (30 March) . . Page.. 1228 ..
Table 3: Reasons leave granted for period 31/3/99 - 1/4/00
Substantiated medical grounds 95Work commitments* 5
Reported late** 5
Welfare of parent 1
Welfare of self 1
Welfare of child 6
Vehicle breakdown 1
Child's christening 1
Bereavement 1
By court order 1
TOTAL 117
* Following advice received from the Australian Government Solicitor's Office, this is no longer considered a valid reason for granting leave of absence.
** Detainees who arrive late are deemed to be absent. However, the PDC Manager may grant leave of absence to such detainees for reasons considered valid, taking into consideration the attendance record of the detainee and any other information the Manager considers relevant.
Processes in place at the PDC for dealing with detainees who fail to report as required are as follows
An entry is made against the detainee attendance sheet for further inquiry and action. The detainee is sent a letter requesting documentation to support the absence. The documentation must be verifiable and is required by the next Detention Period. An extension of time may be allowed in extenuating circumstances.
The Manager undertakes all the above and also determines the adequacy of any documents received. The Manager either issues a letter granting leave for the Detention Period or issues a notice outlining that:
the detainee has failed to report as required;
the term of their detention is to be extended, and that
the detainee may apply to the Director for leave.
The result is recorded on the detainee attendance sheet and register.
In granting a leave of absence, the Manager of the PDC does not decrease the number of weekends to be served. The detainee is required to serve the detention period for which the leave of absence was granted.
In the last 12 months 36 offenders have been breached for non-attendance; 27 have been successfully prosecuted, with 21 of those receiving prison sentences, and 6 receiving suspended sentences. A further 9 prosecutions were unsuccessful. In addition, there were 3 variation of sentences by the courts on compassionate grounds and 2 cancellations of orders on subsequent convictions.
9. No.
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