Submission: Exposure Draft of the Public Advocate (Official Visitors) Amendment Bill 2012
25 January 2016
ACTCOSS welcomes the opportunity to provide comment on the Exposure Draft of the Public Advocate (Official Visitors) Amendment Bill 2012, as released by the ACT Greens on 10 January 2012.
The role of Official Visitors is an important one, seeking to hear the voices and experiences of people detained or voluntarily being cared for in government provided facilities. Expansion of the scope of Official Visitors cannot be done in isolation from the role of Commissioners within the Human Rights Commission. Also, at the heart of any this discussion must remain the needs of vulnerable Canberrans accessing or detained in identified services.