Monitoring places of detention

OPCAT is an international human rights treaty designed to support the protection of individuals in places of detention from torture and other ill treatment.

Rather than create new human rights, it builds on the existing obligations to prevent torture and other ill treatment contained in the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

OPCAT recognises that places of detention are where risks of torture and other ill treatment can be at their greatest. As a result, OPCAT establishes a system of regular visits by independent bodies to places of detention, to improve treatment and conditions and support the prevention of torture and other ill treatment before it occurs.

To undertake these regular visits, OPCAT requires countries to establish independent monitoring bodies known as National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs).

It also requires countries to accept visits from the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT).

The places of detention subject to NPM and SPT oversight under OPCAT include, but are not limited to:

prisons
youth detention
police holding cells
court cells
closed mental health facilities
immigration detention facilities
military detention
forensic disability settings.

Australia became a party to OPCAT in December 2017, and was required to have established its own NPM by January 2023.

Australia has a ‘multi-body’ NPM consisting of different monitoring bodies known collectively as the Australian NPM.

However, membership of the Australian NPM is incomplete, as some governments are yet to nominate NPMs for their respective jurisdictions. Despite this, the members of the Australian NPM remain committed to the objectives of OPCAT.

Latest Publications on OPCAT

26 February 2026
The Ombudsman held the first meeting of his OPCAT Advisory Group for 2026. A communiqué from the meeting is available.
2 December 2025
Members of the Australian NPM met with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), during the WGAD’s visit to Australia to examine detention-related issues here. Australian NPM members had earlier made a submission to the WGAD to help with its visit preparation.
20 November 2025
The Ombudsman held the third and final meeting of his OPCAT Advisory Group for 2025. A communiqué from the meeting is available.
20 October 2025
Members of the Australian NPM met for their third and final meeting for 2025. A communiqué from the meeting is available.
12 September 2025
Members of the Australian NPM made a joint submission to the United Nations Committee against Torture, to support preparation for Australia’s seventh periodic review of its human rights performance under the Convention against Torture.

Further reports are available on the publications and resources pages for the Australian NPM and Commonwealth NPM.

Further information:

The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s roles under OPCAT Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture Australian National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) Australian NPM – OPCAT publications and reports Commonwealth NPM - OPCAT publications and reports OPCAT Advisory Group (OAG) Other information and resources