Page 756 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 March 2019
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Following the Moss review and in recognition of the unique makeup of the ACT’s correctional system and increasing population pressures, I determined that a new model of oversight was required. The ACT government committed to establishing an external and independent inspectorate of correctional services intended to strengthen and improve existing oversight arrangements. The ACT government allocated $1.661 million over four years to establish an external and independent inspectorate of custodial services to strengthen and improve oversight arrangements.
On 30 November 2017 the Assembly passed the Inspector of Correctional Services Act 2017. This legislation establishes an independent inspector tasked with conducting biennial reviews of ACT adult correction facilities and, by the end of 2019, youth justice centres. The act ensures that the inspector makes these reports public unless there are public interest grounds against disclosure.
In May 2018 the ACT government announced the appointment of Mr Neil McAllister to the role of the Inspector of Correctional Services for the territory. Mr McAllister has extensive experience conducting comprehensive reviews of correctional facilities across Australia and providing clear advice to governments on ways to improve operations and policies. The office of the Inspector of Correctional Services is now fully operational and is committed to ensuring continuous improvement through its systemic and regular reviews of correctional services.
The act provides for the inspector to examine and review ACT Corrective Services responses to critical incidents. Critical incidents are defined in the act to include circumstances where a person’s life has been endangered; there is an escape, hostage situation, a riot or serious assault; or any other incident identified as a critical incident by a relevant minister or relevant director-general. This review function provides insight into broader systemic issues that may be raised by individual incidents and helps lead to sustainable change towards best practice in correctional services in the territory.
Further to this, Australia’s ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, otherwise known as OPCAT, will allow visits from the United Nations subcommittee on prevention of torture. The Monitoring of Places of Detention (Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture) Act 2018 provides for UN subcommittee visits and enables their access to places of detention, information including detainee records and to interview detainees and other people.
The OPCAT provides a framework for the preventative approach to oversight which entails visits, including unannounced visits, to all places where people are deprived of their liberty in order to assess risks and ill treatment and make recommendations for improvement. This will provide further transparency and accountability and contribute to strengthening and improving oversight arrangements not only at the AMC but also in other places of detention.
ACT Corrective Services are committed to providing correctional facilities and services where the human rights of detainees are respected and where the safety of
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