Resources
ACT NPM Legislation & Guidelines
- Monitoring of Places of Detention (Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture) Act 2018
- Monitoring of Places of Detention (Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture) Act National Preventive Mechanism Guidelines 2025 (No 1)
- ACT National Preventive Mechanism Standard Operating Procedures
- Instrument of Delegation under the Monitoring of Places of Detention (Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture) Act 2018 (ACT) [ACT Ombudsman]
- Instrument of Delegation Under the Monitoring Places of Detention (Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture) Act 2018 (ACT) [ACT Custodial Inspector]
ACT NPM Guidance Materials
ACT NPM Reports
- March 2026 Post Visit Report - ACT Watch House and Police Station
- March 2026 Assessment of Implementation of Past Suggestions Report - ACT Watch House and Police Stations
- August 2025 ACT National Preventive Mechanism Posit Visit Summary - Bimberi Youth Justice Centre
ACT NPM Public Statements
ACT NPM Submissions
- ACT NPM Submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee’s inquiry into Australia's youth justice and incarceration system (9 December 2025)
- ACT NPM Submission - Review of operation of section 70 (strip search on admission) of the Corrections Management Act 2007 (29 August 2025)
- ACT NPM Submission - Review of decision-making criteria in the Bail Act 1992 (13 June 2025)
- ACT NPM Joint Submission to ACT Government on Electronic Monitoring in the ACT (28 January 2025)
Australian National Preventive Mechanism
The ACT NPM is part the multi-body Australian NPM which has members across the Commonwealth, states and territories, with responsibility for monitoring different places of detention in their respective jurisdictions.
Australian NPM Annual Reports
- Annual Report of the Australian National Preventive Mechanism 2023-24
- Annual Report of the Australian National Preventive Mechanism 2022-23
Australian NPM Public Statements
- August 2025: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - Rushed youth justice reforms won't make the NT safer
- March 2025: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - Critical torture prevention work again underfunded
- October 2024: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - Reintroduction of spit hoods for children in the NT is not the answer
- May 2024: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - Little funding for torture prevention in federal Budget
- December 2023: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - Response to the Report of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture – 2022 visit to Australia
- September 2023: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - Queensland law change and detention of children in watch houses and adult prisons
- February 2023: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - Statement on SPTs decision to terminate Australian visit
- February 2023: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - UN SPT Visit Termination
- January 2023: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - Australia's National Preventive Mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture
- November 2022: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - Detention of children and young people
- October 2022: Australian National Preventive Mechanism Joint Statement - UN SPT Visit Suspension
Australian NPM Joint Submissions
- Australian NPM Submission - Written contribution to List of Issues Prior to Reporting Seventh periodic report of Australia under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (September 2025)
- Australian NPM submission: Working Group on Arbitrary Detention December 2025 visit to Australia (August 2025)
- Australian NPM Submission - Draft National Report: Australia's 4th Universal Periodic Review (August 2025)
- Australian NPM Submission - Written contribution to List of Issues Prior to Reporting Seventh periodic report of Australia under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (28 May 2025)
- Australian NPM Submission - Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee's inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system (14 October 2024
- Australian NPM Submission - UN Committee against Torture’s follow-up procedure: Sixth periodic review of Australia (August 2024)
- Australian NPM Submission - UN Special Rapporteur on Torture’s Thematic Report on Current Issues and Good Practices in Prison Management (28 November 2023
- Australian NPM Submission - Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework (4 July 2023)
- Australian NPM Submission - UN SPT Draft General Comment No. 1 on Places of Deprivation of Liberty (Article 4) (April 2023)
- Australian NPM Submission - UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions’ Call for Input on Deaths in Custody (March 2023)
- Australian NPM Submission - Legal Affairs and Safety Committee Queensland - OPCAT Implementation Bill (11 January 2023)
United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
Each country has its own NPM (or NPMs), while the SPT is a single monitoring mechanism at the international level. Both NPMs and the SPT conduct visits to places of detention.
The SPT is made up of 25 independent and impartial experts from around the world.
It has two main functions:
- to conduct visits to places of detention in each country that is party to OPCAT, and;
- to provide advice and assistance to the countries which are party to OPCAT as well as to their NPMs.
- UN SPT
- Visit Report - Visit to Australia undertaken from 16 to 23 October 2022: recommendations and observations addressed to the State party (20 December 2023)
- Australian Government Response - Visit to Australia undertaken from 16 to 23 October 2022 (16 January 2024)
- ACT National Preventive Mechanism - Clarifications of ACT matters in Australian response to UN SPT visit report (03 March 2024) (PDF 238KB)
- National Preventive Mechanism Response - Visit to Australia undertaken from 16 to 23 October 2022 (19 March 2024)
Other NPM Resources
- Commonwealth NPM
- Australian Human Rights Commission
- Tasmanian NPM
- Northern Territory NPM
- Association for the Prevention of Torture
- United Kingdom NPM
- New Zealand NPM