Page 4423 - Week 12 - Thursday, 26 October 2017
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in a matter being examined or reviewed. This includes if a review or critical incident relates to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander detainee, a female detainee, a detainee with disability or a detainee from a culturally or linguistically diverse background.
The new role will work with existing oversight agencies to prevent harm and ensure continuous improvement through the systematic and regular review of correctional centres and services. The bill acknowledges the unique and complementary roles each oversight agency plays in the ACT. This includes a requirement for the inspector to ensure that its functions are exercised in a way that does not delay or unnecessarily duplicate the exercise of functions by existing oversight agencies or investigative entities in the ACT. It also allows the inspector to refer matters that it believes can be more appropriately dealt with by that oversight agency and enter into arrangements to efficiently manage the interaction of each of the parties’ statutory functions, and it facilitates appropriate information sharing.
In return, human rights commissioners, the ACT Auditor-General and the ACT Ombudsman are required to consult with the inspector prior to undertaking a broad investigation or own-motion investigation relating to a correctional centre or services, and ensure that, when exercising these broad investigation or own-motion investigation functions, they do so in a way that does not delay or unnecessarily duplicate the functions of the inspector. This provision does not provide the inspector with a veto power over an investigation, impact on these existing agencies’ abilities to review complaints or alter the mandate of their existing oversight functions. Instead, this is an important mechanism to support the new role and specific expertise of the inspector of correctional services, ensure a coordinated approach to the review of correctional centres and services, and prevent oversight fatigue.
The bill also requires consistent reporting on correctional centres and the delivery of services, including whether the rights of detainees under international and territory law are protected and whether law, policies and procedures applying to correctional centres and services reflect best practice standards. The bill and establishment of the inspector of correctional services aim to meet the expectations of the Moss review and complement existing work underway, including the review of the official visitor scheme and the implementation of the ACT’s optional protocol to the convention against torture national preventive mechanisms.
The bill has been designed to allow deferred commencement of certain provisions to accommodate the phased inclusion of youth justice centres. The legislation requires that the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre must come under the inspector’s oversight within two years of the bill taking effect. This phased implementation will enable the inspector to accommodate and understand the needs of young people and the operation of youth justice facilities. This is because the youth justice environment in the ACT is very different to that of adult correctional facilities.
The ACT’s youth justice centre operates services and programs that are trauma informed, recognising the impact of traumatic experiences on young people’s behaviour and capacity to address issues. The inspector must have appropriate
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