12 June 2026
C214560
C Lane
[FYI request #34707 email]
Tēnā koe
Thank you for your email of 14 May 2026 to the Department of Corrections – Ara Poutama
Aotearoa, requesting information about Release to Work (RtW). Your request has been
considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).
People on RtW have previously taken part in unit and prison-based activities and education
to ensure they are well-prepared for community-based employment and that the public are
safe. You can find out more about RtW, including the eligibility criteria, application and
approval process, under section M.04.07 of the Prison Operations Manual, which is available
on our website at the following link:
https://www.corrections.govt.nz/resources/policy_and_legislation/Prison-Operations-
Manual/Movement/M.04-External-movement-transportation-of-prisoners/M.04.07-
release-to-work-RTW. You requested:
In continuation to my previously made request dated; 4th June 2025, referenced
C197076, I would like to request the following information as spreadsheet
attachment appendix;
- Number of life sentenced inmates attending RtW that are yet to attend their first
parole hearing;
- Of those life sentenced inmates attending, which prison do each reside;
- Of those life sentenced inmates attending, what security classification of each of
those inmates hold at the time of application;
- Of those life sentenced inmates attending, how far out from their first parole
attendance, were they at the time of RtW application before being approved; e.g 3-
6mth prior, 6-12mth prior, 12-18mth prior and so on;
NATIONAL OFFICE, WELLINGTON
Mayfair House, 44 – 52 The Terrace, Wellington, 6011, Private Box 1206, Wellington 6140,
Phone +64 4 460 3000
www.corrections.govt.nz
2
As mentioned on our website, the eligibility criteria for RtW is:
1. Only prisoners who are specified in regulation 26 of the Corrections Regulations
2005 can be released on release to work. Release to work is a form of temporary
release.
2. These prisoners are:
a. minimum security prisoners who:
i.
are serving a sentence of 24 months or less; or
ii.
are serving a sentence of more than 24 months and have reached
their parole eligibility date; or
iii.
were sentenced to a determinate sentence of imprisonment prior to 1
July 2002 for a “serious violence offence”, are not eligible for parole,
and are within 12 months of their sentence end date.
b. low and low-medium security prisoners who have a release date set by the
New Zealand Parole Board.
As per the eligibility criteria for RtW, a person sentenced to life imprisonment must have
reached their parole eligibility date to be eligible for RtW. Therefore, all individuals
sentenced to life imprisonment who are approved for RtW have reached their parole
eligibility date and attended their first parole hearing.
To prepare a response to your current request, we have sought and received assurances
from the relevant regional staff that none of the prisoners included within the data released
in the previous response to you (our ref C197076) were undertaking RtW under the
circumstances you have described, which would not meet these eligibility criteria.
Please note that this response may be published on Corrections’ website. Typically,
responses are published quarterly or as otherwise determined. Your personal information
including name and contact details will be removed for publication.
If you have any concerns with this response, we encourage you to raise them with
Corrections. Alternatively, you have the right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman.
Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by
contacting them on 0800 802 602 or by post to the Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box
10152, Wellington 6143.
Ngā mihi
Neil Beales
Acting Commissioner Custodial Services
