Page 1372 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 2012
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government. I held meetings with a range of bodies, including all current official visitors, the public advocate’s office, and the Human Rights Commission. I also held a public forum which about 30 people attended.
From those responses, my office was able to tailor the bill to ensure it addressed the current policy context and any human rights and other concerns. Almost all respondents provided high levels of support for the creation of new official visitor roles for people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. There was also overwhelming support for securing the official visitor role for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in corrections.
The role of official visitors for people with disabilities is incredibly important because, while people with disabilities are not technically being “detained” in accommodation, it is arguable that they are vulnerable, dependent on the people who provide the accommodation to them, and have a diminished opportunity to move to other accommodation if unsatisfied with their current status.
The ACT government has previously stated that it does not support the introduction of official visitors for people with disabilities in group homes because they are not being detained against their will and have a choice in their residential setting. However, most other states in Australia have recognised that such an argument does not accurately reflect the situation of people with disabilities and have provided official visitors for people with disabilities for a number of years. The same arguments and responses also apply to people who are experiencing homelessness.
Several women’s health groups provided well-developed submissions to the consultation process and requested that an official visitor role for women be created. Statistics show that women in institutions have suffered extensive trauma prior to their detention, with 89 per cent of women in prison, for example, having suffered sexual violence prior to incarceration. It is therefore understandable that many women would prefer to discuss issues with a woman. In response to this request we have provided, through the functions of the official visitors, that all official visitors must be sensitive to gender, and we envisage official visitors receiving training to assist them in achieving this outcome.
The bill also provides for an entitled person, being the person entitled to make a complaint, to be able to ask to speak to an official visitor of the same gender. Given the constraints of resourcing, if an entitled person requests to see an official visitor of the same gender, and such an official visitor for that specific portfolio area is not available, we believe an official visitor from another portfolio area should be able to assist on a short-term basis. We note, however, that the official visitor would have to meet eligibility criteria to be the official visitor they are acting for. The best way to achieve this goal is not, however, through the legislation, we believe, but through ministers ensuring that this does occur.
Responses to the consultation process strongly supported the legislative requirement for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander official visitor for children and young people and for adults in the corrections system. Aboriginal people continue to face
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