The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s is holding a current inquiry into self-harm and suicide in Australia’s immigration detention facilities.
The Human Rights Commission has since spoken with the Ombudsman’s office. It appears from these discussions that there will not be a formal process of seeking or receiving submissions for this inquiry. However, it would be valuable if we could provide some input through other channels. NGOs and community groups wishing to provide input to the inquiry can contact the Ombudsman’s office. The person to contact is George Masri (Senior Assistant Ombudsman) on george.masri@ombudsman.gov.au or (02) 6276 0129.
The Ombudsman’s office is also considering holding one or two NGO forums as part of the inquiry (potentially in Sydney and/or Melbourne), but this is not confirmed yet.
Details about the Ombudsman’s inquiry can be found in the Ombudsman’s media release at http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/media-releases/show/189. According to that release, the inquiry will consider:
The Human Rights Commission has since spoken with the Ombudsman’s office. It appears from these discussions that there will not be a formal process of seeking or receiving submissions for this inquiry. However, it would be valuable if we could provide some input through other channels. NGOs and community groups wishing to provide input to the inquiry can contact the Ombudsman’s office. The person to contact is George Masri (Senior Assistant Ombudsman) on george.masri@ombudsman.gov.au or (02) 6276 0129.
The Ombudsman’s office is also considering holding one or two NGO forums as part of the inquiry (potentially in Sydney and/or Melbourne), but this is not confirmed yet.
Details about the Ombudsman’s inquiry can be found in the Ombudsman’s media release at http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/media-releases/show/189. According to that release, the inquiry will consider:
- the extent of the problem, including relative to the incidence of suicide and self-harm in the broader Australian community
- demographic information, including gender, age, country of origin, urban/rural background, language, and length of time in detention of people who participate in suicidal or self-harming behaviours
- potential determinants of this behaviour, including pre-existence of mental illnesses
- catalysts for suicidal ideation and self-harming behaviours, for example denial of visa applications, detention overcrowding, uncertainty about the future
- contagion issues and the impact of attempted or completed suicides and incidents of self-harm on the broader detention community
- prevention (such as screening for warning signs specific to populations, putting in place appropriate safety measures), intervention and postvention initiatives, including access to counselling and other health services
- detention facility guidelines and protocols
- the availability of appropriately qualified and professionally trained staff
- the nature and different types of detention facilities, access to means to self-harm or suicide, physical environments, risk assessments and mitigation strategies/measures.
