Page 4232 - Week 11 - Thursday, 25 October 2018
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maintain public confidence in our correctional services system. Following the Moss review, and due to the unique make-up of the ACT’s correctional system—and taking into account existing oversight measures in the ACT—I determined that a new model of oversight was required. In May 2018 the ACT government announced the appointment of Mr Neil McAllister in the role of Inspector of Correctional Services for the territory. The inspector works collaboratively with ACT Corrective Services and oversight agencies to identify issues in adult corrections and propose solutions to promote continuous improvement.
I am pleased to advise the Assembly that the inspector is already fully operational and in June 2018 initiated his first formal review into the management and care of remand detainees at the AMC. While this review is still underway and not yet finalised, the inspector has made a point to commend the professionalism, assistance and friendliness of staff and detainees at the AMC during his visits. It was reassuring for me to hear from an independent oversight body that there is a positive culture operating at the AMC. It should be noted that there is a legislative requirement for the inspector to give to the Assembly a report on any review conducted within six months of completing the review. I look forward to receiving the inspector’s report and any findings and recommendations made to improve the health and safety of all detainees.
I advise that the implementation oversight steering committee has found that recommendation 6 of the Moss review could not be met until the ACT government commits to build a separate remand facility within the AMC. The committee has noted that a separate remand facility would meet existing legislative requirements under both the Human Rights Act 2004 and the Corrections Management Act 2007.
Further, the committee recognises that ACT Corrective Services has implemented a range of initiatives to support the intent of the recommendation by improving the induction process, utilising the segregation and separation of detainees, continuing work to refresh and review existing policies and introducing pro-social methods of detainee management. This includes the implementation of a rehabilitation framework and the development of the AMC’s operational model.
In addition, as part of the response to recommendation 6, ACT Corrective Services has conducted a feasibility study to identify, prioritise and inform future correctional requirements in a staged, cost-effective manner. This study covers the AMC centre logic referred to in the government’s response to the Moss review. The findings of the feasibility study will help to inform future ACT Corrective Services plans for additional capacity and flexibility in detainee classification and placement and inform options to better deal with changing demand conditions.
I advise the Assembly that the feasibility study has found that there is limited scope to increase the number of fixed beds within the existing accommodation and proposes a number of options to inform future decisions about potential building expansion. This study will support business cases for the government to consider in the budget context.
As previously mentioned, the Inspector of Correctional Services is currently undertaking a review into remand detainees at the AMC, and the outcomes of this review will be reported to this Assembly in due course. This review, along with other
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