This is the first Annual Report of the Australian National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) and covers the period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. It provides a snapshot of how OPCAT has been implemented in Australia. It includes discussion of the following common themes of collective concern that have been identified by members of the Australian NPM:
- youth detention, including use of isolation
- access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme while in detention
- healthcare – access to Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in detention
- staffing shortages in places of detention
- the numbers of people held on remand in prisons and youth detention.
OPCAT presents an enormous opportunity for Australia to improve the treatment of people held in detention settings. The Australian NPM will continue to advocate for full OPCAT implementation in Australia, and to strengthen the protection of persons deprived of their liberty against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, despite our fundamental challenges.
