General information
What is the International Transfer of Prisoners Scheme?
The ITP Scheme allows Australians imprisoned overseas, and foreign nationals imprisoned in Australia, to apply to serve the remainder of their sentence in their home country.
The ITP Scheme aims to promote the successful rehabilitation and reintegration into society of the prisoner, while preserving the sentence imposed by the sentencing country as far as possible in the prisoner’s home country. The Scheme contributes to community safety by ensuring that prisoners’ convictions are recorded in their home country and that their reintegration into that country’s community is able to be appropriately supported, monitored and supervised.
Transfers under the ITP Scheme are not intended to provide a more lenient or convenient alternative for prisoners.
Transfers are not automatic. They require consent to the terms of transfer by the Australian Government, the government of the foreign country and the prisoner before the transfer can take place. Transfers of prisoners from Australia who have been convicted of a State or Territory offence, and all transfers of prisoners to Australia, also require the consent of the relevant State or Territory Government.
The benefits of the ITP Scheme
The ITP Scheme aims to:
- improve prisoners’ prospects for rehabilitation by removing language and cultural barriers, allowing access to custodial programs and facilitating contact with family and social support networks
- promote reintegration into society by allowing prisoners to be released on supervised parole - in the absence of transfer, foreign nationals are usually removed under migration laws immediately upon release from prison, without receiving the benefit of any parole supervision or reintegration into the community
- protect the community through the effective management and monitoring of prisoners transferred back to Australia
- allow prisoners’ convictions to be recorded by the relevant authorities in their home country
- reduce the costs of providing consular services to Australians imprisoned overseas and reduce the cost to Australian State and Territory governments of housing foreign prisoners
- meet public expectations that the Australian Government will enable Australians imprisoned overseas to apply to return home to serve out their sentences, and
- meet the expectations of foreign governments that their citizens will be able to apply to transfer home to serve out their sentence.
The operation of the Australian ITP Scheme
- The International Transfer of Prisoners Act 1997 (the ITP Act) provides the Federal legal framework for Australia’s ITP Scheme.
- Currently, Australia is able to undertake transfers with over 60 'transfer countries' through the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, and a number of bilateral treaties. The Convention came into force in Australia on 1 January 2001.
List of participating countries
As at January 2011 the following countries are ‘transfer countries’ under the International Transfer of Prisoners Scheme.
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Belgium
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia *
- Canada
- Chile
- China*
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Honduras
- Hong Kong *
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Panama
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand *
- The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Venezuela
- Vietnam *
* Countries with which Australia has entered into a bilateral treaty.
- A treaty between Australia and Thailand on the transfer of prisoners came into force on 26 September 2002.
- A treaty between Australia and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China on the transfer of prisoners came into force on 23 April 2006.
- An arrangement with the United States of America on the transfer of prisoners sentenced by military commissions came into force on 30 March 2007.
- A treaty between Australia and Cambodia on the transfer of prisoners came into force on 14 April 2007 but is not yet operational.
- A treaty between Australia and Vietnam on the transfer of prisoners came into force on 11 December 2009.
- A treaty between Australia and China on the transfer of prisoners has been signed by the Australian Government, but has not yet entered into force.
When can a prisoner be transferred to or from Australia?
A prisoner may be transferred between Australia and a transfer country under the ITP Act if:
- the prisoner is eligible (see below)
- the conditions of transfer are satisfied (see below)
- the transfer of the prisoner is not likely to prevent his or her surrender to an extradition country, and
- the Australian Government, the foreign government, the prisoner and, where relevant, the government of an Australian State or Territory, all agree to the transfer.
A prisoner is eligible for transfer to Australia if he or she is an Australian citizen. In some circumstances permanent residents with community ties to Australia may also be eligible for transfer to Australia.
A prisoner is eligible for transfer from Australia if they are a national of the country to which they want to transfer. Some countries also allow prisoners who are not nationals, but who have community ties with the country, to transfer under the ITP Scheme.
The conditions of transfer to or from Australia that must be satisfied are that:
- there are at least six months of the prisoner’s sentence remaining to be served (for transfers to or from Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong or Vietnam, there must be one year remaining)
- neither the sentence of imprisonment nor the conviction on which it is based is subject to appeal, and
- the offence for which the prisoner is serving a sentence would also be an offence in the country to which the prisoner wishes to transfer (this requirement may be waived in some circumstances).
The conditions of transfer for prisoners seeking transfer from Thailand and Cambodia exclude prisoners who have committed offences against the monarchy, national security or legislation protecting national art treasures. Thailand also requires prisoners seeking to transfer to Australia to serve a specified minimum period of their sentence in Thailand before the transfer may take place.
The Australian Minister for Justice takes a number of additional factors into account when determining whether or not to consent to the transfer of a prisoner to or from Australia, such as the extent to which the transfer would assist the prisoner’s rehabilitation and any relevant humanitarian considerations. The ITP Statement of Policy provides information on policies that guide the Australian Minister’s assessment of transfer applications.
Once a prisoner transfers to Australia under the ITP Scheme, he or she becomes a federal prisoner and his or her conditions of imprisonment and eligibility for parole are governed by directions made under the ITP Act and/or provisions of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).
Who can I contact for more information?
For further information, please contact:
International Transfer of Prisoners Unit
International Crime Cooperation Division
Attorney-General’s Department
3-5 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600
Phone: +61 2 6141 6666
Email: itp@ag.gov.au
