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Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003

Status and rights of care recipients - General status and specific rights - Specific rights of care recipients

57: Right to receive and send written communications and other items

You could also call this:

"You have the right to send and receive mail and gifts privately"

Illustration for Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003

You have the right to get letters and other things that people send to you. You also have the right to send letters and other things to others. When you get or send these things, your privacy must be protected. You can send and receive letters and other items without anyone stopping you. If someone thinks that getting or sending a letter or item might hurt you or others, they can check it, but they need permission from someone in charge.

You can always get and send letters from your lawyer without anyone checking them. If someone checks a letter or item and thinks it might hurt you or others, they can stop it from being sent or received, but they need permission from someone in charge. If someone does not want to get letters or items from you, the person in charge must make sure you do not send them anything.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM225472.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpRights and equality > Anti-discriminationRights and equality > PrivacyHealth and wellbeing > Mental health
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56: Right to receive visitors and communicate orally with persons outside facility, or

"You have the right to see visitors and make phone calls at reasonable times."

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58: Written communications or other items not to be intercepted if sent by or to certain office holders, or

"Some mail and messages are private and must not be stopped or read by others, even if you're getting care."

Part 5Status and rights of care recipients
General status and specific rights: Specific rights of care recipients

57Right to receive and send written communications and other items

  1. Every care recipient is entitled—

  2. to receive, in a manner that safeguards the care recipient's privacy, any written communication or other item that is sent to the care recipient; and
    1. to the prompt dispatch, in a manner that safeguards the care recipient's privacy, of any written communication or other item that the care recipient wishes to send.

      1. If there are reasonable grounds for believing that the receipt by, or the dispatch on behalf of, a care recipient of any written communication or other item could be detrimental to the interests and care of the care recipient or of other persons, the care manager may direct that the communication or item be checked; but a direction to check communications or items sent to the care recipient requires the approval of the co-ordinator.

      2. Subsection (2) does not apply to a written communication or other item sent by, or on behalf of, or addressed to, any lawyer of the care recipient.

      3. If, on checking a written communication or other item under subsection (2), the care manager considers that the receipt or dispatch of the communication or item could be detrimental to the interests and care of the care recipient or of other persons, the care manager may direct that the communication or item be withheld from the care recipient or not be sent, as the case requires; but a direction to withhold a communication or item requires the approval of the co-ordinator.

      4. The care manager must ensure that a written communication or other item that is addressed to a person who has notified the care manager that he or she does not wish to receive communications from the care recipient concerned is not dispatched to that person.

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