Motion - Office of the Custodial Inspector Tasmania: Annual Report 2022-23 - Consideration & Noting

Tuesday 6 August 2024

[12.34 p.m.]

Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I thank the member for Nelson for bringing forward this motion. I rise to make a few remarks on the annual report of the Custodial Inspector of Tasmania, which provides us with key insights into the conditions of those in custody in Tasmania.

This report provides us with data to show how well Tasmanian detention facilities are meeting the standards and obligations that are legally required of them. Among the conclusions and observations in the report, I note that the Custodial Inspectorate faces significant challenges regarding resourcing and funding, despite ongoing discussions with the Department for Education, Children and Young People, and further planning discussions with Treasury. The report indicates no substantial progress has been made in securing additional funding.

The Custodial Inspector has jurisdiction over the Risdon Prison Complex, the Mary Hutchinson Women's Prison, the Hobart Reception Prison, the Launceston Reception Prison and the Ashley Youth Detention Centre.

To meet legislative obligations with limited resources, the Custodial Inspector conducts themed inspections of custodial centres, focusing on specific inspection standards. Over a three-year cycle, all facets of custodial centres are inspected against the full set of standards. In 2022‑23, the inspector conducted three thematic inspections of adult custodial settings and two at Ashley Youth Detention Centre. These inspections focused on wellbeing in adult custodial centres, wellbeing in youth custodial sentences, custody reception to release in adult custodial centres, physical healthcare and substance-use management in adult custodial centres, and physical healthcare and substance-use management in youth custodial centres.

A key part of this report makes recommendations for legislative changes. The report highlights that no legislative changes have been made to the Custodial Inspector Act 2016 since its inception. The inspector has emphasised several areas for change in the past two annual reports. The first is the direct tabling of reports. The inspector discusses the possibility of amending the act to allow them to table inspection reports directly to parliament, similar to practices in New South Wales, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. The rationale is that tabling by the minister could create negative perceptions about the inspector's independence.

The second goes to embargoing consultation periods. The current 30-day embargo period and overall consultation period, with the relevant department for reports containing adverse comments, can delay the tabling of a report by almost two months. The inspector suggests revising these periods to enhance efficiency.

The third goes to independence of inspectorate staff. The report makes a suggestion to strengthen the independence of the office by employing inspectorate staff through a department other than the Department of Justice. Service-level agreements for human resources and IT services should be held with the department without direct responsibility for prison services or youth justice to avoid perceptions of compromised independence.

The inspector also reports instances of reprisal against individuals who have raised concerns highlighting the need for protective measures. Section 36 of the OPCAT Implementation Act contains provisions against reprisal and similar protections should be included in the Custodial Inspector Act. The report also suggests expanding provisions for information sharing between the custodial inspector and other bodies. Currently, information sharing is permitted with the Ombudsman, Integrity Commission and Audit Office. However, there are no provisions for sharing with the Health Complaints Commissioner, the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner or the Commissioner for Children and Young People, despite their relevant and significant interests.

The report notes significant issues in Tasmanian prisons, particularly the high frequency of lockdowns. Adult prisoners have an average of only 7.7 hours per day out of their cells, which decreased to 7.3 hours per day in 2022‑23. The lack of equivalent data for youth custodial centres is a concern and the Inspector seeks to investigate this further with the Productivity Commission and the DECYP.

Regarding youth detention, the Inspector highlights the correlation between detainee numbers at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre and their time outside of rooms, suggesting that staff shortages contribute to frequent lockdowns. The report also emphasises the high rate of assaults in adult custody and links these to lockdown rates. Tasmania reports 4.52 prisoner on officer assaults per 100 prisoners, and 0.31 prisoner on prisoner assaults per 100 prisoners, which is among the highest in the country.

The prison population has grown by 21 per cent between 2022 and 2023, adding to the challenges of resourcing. The increasing population exacerbates issues with parole, including application processing, awaiting decisions and denial of parole due to lack of suitable community accommodation. The Inspector warns that an increase in prison population places further burdens on already stretched services.

These are only some of the issues which were raised in the 2022‑23 annual report of the Custodial Inspector.  

I will finish my contribution by flagging that as the chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Integrity, which oversees the Office of the Custodial Inspector, we take these annual reports very seriously. I look forward to continuing to work with our committee and the Office of the Custodial Inspector to scrutinise and acknowledge these important reports and to have discussions on where we can assist to make improvements to the issues which are currently being raised.