New name for the ACT Correctional Inspector

New name for the ACT Custodial Inspector

Recent changes to legislation mean the previous ‘ACT Inspector of Correctional Services’ is now the ACT Custodial Inspector.

The ACT Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services (OICS) was established in 2018 to provide independent oversight of ACT correctional and youth justice facilities, focusing on continual improvement and prevention of ill-treatment. The Inspector provides oversight by conducting reviews of ACT correctional facilities and services and reviewing critical incidents. Reviews are conducted against published inspection standards, which set out the expectations for treatment and care, and indicators that help assess whether expectations are being met.

The name change followed a review, which found that the legislation was generally functioning well and made several recommendations to improve the efficiency and operation of the Inspector’s functions.

The first tranche of changes to implement recommendations from the review were made by the Monitoring Places of Detention Amendment Act 2024 which commenced in September 2024. The changes included changing the title of the Inspector, to better reflect the scope of oversight responsibilities, which include the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre.

The amendments also changed the Monitoring Places of Detention (Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture) Act 2018, to provide for the establishment, powers and functions of the ACT National Preventive Mechanism (NPM).  The Inspector is part of the ACT NPM, along with the ACT Human Rights Commission and the ACT Ombudsman. The NPM provides a system of independent and proactive visits to places of detention to prevent torture and other cruel or degrading treatment including prisons, youth detention centres, police cells and secure mental health units.