Tuesday, 2 August 2022

Monitoring of Places of Detention by the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (OPCAT) Bill 2022

Introduction and first reading

Ms KILKENNY (Carrum—Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support, Minister for Fishing and Boating) (12:27): I move:

That I introduce a bill for an act to facilitate visits to places of detention and access to information by the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in accordance with the subcommittee’s mandate under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and for other purposes.

Motion agreed to.

Mr BATTIN (Gembrook) (12:28): Congratulations on your role, Speaker.

Could I please ask for a brief explanation of the bill.

Ms KILKENNY (Carrum—Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support, Minister for Fishing and Boating) (12:28): The bill defines places of detention in scope for subcommittee inspections across corrections, youth justice, secure welfare services, court services, Victoria Police and the health and disability sectors. It specifies the state’s obligations to ensure the subcommittee’s unrestricted access to a place of detention, unrestricted access to relevant information required by the subcommittee to perform its inspection mandate and ability to interview detained persons and employees in a place of detention and to create a system to support the subcommittee’s access to places and people, including consistent entry and information-sharing requirements, the nomination of accompanying officials to a visit and the issuing of ministerial guidelines to assist and facilitate inspections operationally in places of detention.

Read first time.

Ordered to be read second time tomorrow.