The documents below set out how the Tasmanian NPM expects people deprived of their liberty to be treated, so that torture and ill-treatment does not occur. They are drafted to reflect contemporary human rights obligations and best practice.
- Expectations - Children and Young People
(PDF, 1.3 MB) - Expectations - Adult Custodial Centres
(PDF, 1.2 MB) - Expectations - Police and Court Custody
(PDF, 1 MB) - Expectations - Mental Health Law
(PDF, 888 KB) - Expectations – Health and Social Care
(PDF, 704 KB)
Following recommendations made by the Tasmanian NPM in the report Preventing torture and ill-treatment in Tasmania, future visits to police and court custody, adult custodial centres, and youth detention settings will be carried out by the Office of the Custodial Inspector in cooperation with the Office of the Tasmanian NPM. When conducting their visits, Custodial Inspector staff will use the expectations materials listed above.
More information about the Custodial Inspector is available at: www.custodialinspector.tas.gov.au.
What are expectations?
The development of expectations for the treatment of people deprived of their liberty is essential to the Tasmanian NPM’s effective operations.
Expectations documents are commonly developed by an NPM to help people understand some of the matters that will be considered when exercising its functions.
Expectations are also working documents; used to support the Tasmanian NPM and its staff by setting out the visit process and criteria against which the treatment of people deprived of their liberty will be examined during a visit.
When undertaking visits, reporting, and making recommendations, the NPM must ensure that its work is grounded in relevant international norms and practices, and is properly planned. The Association for the Prevention of Torture emphasises that poorly prepared or planned visits may do more harm than good. It is important that NPM visits observe the do no harm principle. The development of expectations forms a key component of the preparatory process.
Publishing the expectations assists in the delivery of the NPM’s education and advisory functions, elucidating the breadth of matters that require proactive monitoring to minimise the risk of torture and ill-treatment. It also helps to promote cooperation with government, setting administrators, detainees, and civil society.
Importantly, the publication of expectations is a demonstration of the NPM’s independence. Section 9(i) of the OPCAT Implementation Act 2021 (the Act) provides for the Tasmanian NPM to publish its expectations, among other working materials.
The grouping of the documents takes into consideration a number of factors including:
- the characteristics of and commonalities between different deprivation of liberty settings;
- stakeholder consultation feedback provided in relation to previous consultations and insights arising from the implementation project report (PDF, 6.2 MB);
- information provided by government; and
- general guidance provided by organisations such as the Association for the Prevention of Torture, and observations of how other NPMs operate.
All expectations documents include any related transportation.
The Tasmanian NPM’s expectations are living documents. Enquiries and feedback in relation to their contents may be submitted using the dialogue box below, or by email.