The Secretariat

The State Parole Authority has a Secretariat which is led by Director and Secretary Ms Amy Manuell, who was appointed in 2016.

The Deputy Director and Assistant Secretary is Ms Elizabeth Leafe.

The SPA is staffed by CSNSW officers working across four dedicated teams:

• Submissions
• Reviews
• Intensive Corrections Orders (ICO)
• Support (administration)

The four teams are each run by a team leader and senior administration officer with all staff reporting to the Deputy Director and Assistant Secretary.

The Submissions Team is responsible for preparing and collating material about the offenders listed for private meetings (on three days of every week). Documents including criminal histories, police facts, judge’s sentencing remarks and Community Corrections reports are assembled by the team and distributed electronically to SPA members to read one week ahead of the relevant meeting. The team also prepares warrants, parole orders and correspondence.

The Reviews Team prepares and collates all relevant material for matters listed before public review hearings at court. Additionally, they ensure required attendees are available to give evidence on the day (offenders, legal representatives, Community Corrections Officers) and manage the running of court hearings. The team also prepare warrants, orders and correspondence.

The ICO Team prepare and collate all relevant information for ICO matters each week and distribute them to SPA members to read ahead of the meetings. Public review hearings are also held for ICO matters in court every Wednesday. The team ensure required attendees are available to give evidence on the day (offenders, legal reps or Community Corrections Officers) and manage the running of court hearing.

The Support Team provides administrative support to the entire Secretariat and tasks include managing the video conferencing system (JustConnect) and requesting reports and documents for provision to offenders and their legal representatives.

The SPA’s Principal Project Officer is responsible for the completion and administration of SPA projects and liaises with external and internal agencies.

The Media Officer is responsible for internal and external communication, media management and stakeholder engagement to support the operations of the SPA.