Inquiry into the Detention of People with Cognitive and Psychiatric Impairment in Australia

The legal apparatus that provides for a person with a cognitive disability to be detained, without review and on an indefinite basis, is concerning. The right to liberty, and the associated right to humane treatment while being deprived of liberty, are core tenets of Liberty Victoria[1] and are also enshrined under international human rights law.[2]

Any decision to restrict the liberty of a person should comply with standards provided in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to ensure procedural fairness, such as including specific and reviewable timeframes to terms of detention.

[1] https://libertyvictoria.org.au/node/11

[2] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (‘CRPD’)