PWDA has sent a letter to the United Nations OPCAT Committee ahead of the planned visit of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) to Australia in 2022.
When visiting Australia, we urge the SPT to inspect ‘secondary’ places of detention, like disability group homes, aged care homes and mental health units. Australia’s recent disability and aged care royal commissions have revealed pervasive abuse in these settings, along with a worrying lack of effective oversight.
The Australian Government has prioritised ‘primary places of detention’ in its implementation of OPCAT, so it could be some time before Australia’s National Preventive Mechanisms conduct inspections of disability group homes and aged care homes.