New Zealand criminals who served jail term outside of their country, particularly Australia, will be subject to new monitoring and supervision.

According to Justice Minister Amy Adams, criminals sent back to New Zealand will be subject to same correctional processes if they served their prison term in the country, AAP reports.

The announcement was made on Tuesday, along with Adam’s explanation of the change in regime. She noted that the tightening of Australian immigration law played a great part in the sudden action.

The newly proposed regime will apply to returning offenders who have been sentenced to more than one year of imprisonment in another country. In addition, offenders subject to the new rules are the ones who are returning to New Zealand within six months of their release from overseas custody and those who were put in jail in another country for an imprisonable offence in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s Labour party criticised the move and called it a disaster. According to Labour’s foreign affairs spokesman, David Shearer, the country lacks technology and resources to cope with the current demand and increased workload from the influx of Kiwi offenders.

Adams, however, said that while the regime proposal came in late, the government will make sure that it will be balanced in keeping Kiwis safe and not overly punishing people.

Recently, 167 offenders have been sent back by Australia to New Zealand, with 585 currently waiting to be deported. Should things be finalised, Adams expects around 150 to 200 offenders to be returned yearly.

Adams clarified that the 167 who returned will not be immediately subject to the new regime, which has yet to be passed by the Parliament. However, the Department of Correction can apply for supervision orders against them.

Under the proposed law, the regime will be applicable if an offender has been sentenced to more than a year in prison in another country, will return to New Zealand within six months of their release from custody and has been imprisoned for offences imprisonable under New Zealand law. It was also noted that the supervision period will be based on the length of the offender’s sentence overseas.

Australia’s tougher immigration laws can affect around 1,000 Kiwis staying in the country. The tougher rules, which took effect in December, state that any offender who is not an Australian citizen and who was sentenced to 12 months or more can be deported.

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