Unresolved human rights complaints

Summary:

A complaint was made by a 16-year-old boy who was detained in Beenleigh and then Southport watch house for 28 days in early 2023 pending release by the court, or transfer to a youth detention centre.

This report concludes that the allegations indicate a limitation of the complainant’s rights to protection as a child, privacy and humane treatment when deprived of liberty, among others, and discusses factors relevant to assessing whether the limitations are reasonable and justified. The allegations demonstrate that watch houses do not meet the standards necessary to safely and humanely accommodate children for extended periods of time.

While maintaining the position that children should not be held in watch houses for longer than 24 hours, the Commission has made 10 recommendations within the power of the Queensland Police Service and the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety to implement in order to support the humane treatment of children detained in watchhouses.

Summary:

The complainant has been a patient of an Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation for many years. Due to the patient’s alleged behaviour and refusal to follow medical advice, his primary treating doctor decided to stop seeing the patient, effectively banning him from accessing the health organisation.

The report discusses the health organisation’s responsibilities to the patient under the right to recognition and equality before the law, and the right to health services. It recommends that where a decision is proposed that would ban a person from accessing its health services, the health organisation’s policies or procedures should ensure that:

• the decision-maker considers alternative, less restrictive strategies that specifically target the risks the ban is meant to address;
• the health service takes reasonable steps to refer the person to an alternative health organisation required by the person, subject to the person’s consent;
• the decision is made, or is reviewed, by the CEO of the health organisation;
• the final decision is subject to review after one year, or another appropriate time period, if requested.

Summary:

The complainant made numerous reports to Queensland Police Service (QPS) about her neighbours regarding property damage, threats and harassment. The complainant alleged that QPS did not provide her with updates, failed to take proper records, and ignored her requests for information and assistance. QPS later confirmed that the neighbour had been charged and convicted and a no contact order made.

The Commission’s recommendations included that both victims and police are made aware of their rights and obligations respectively under the Victims Charter, and that victims be informed of their right to make a complaint under the Human Rights Act 2019 where there has been an alleged contravention of that Act.

Since the report was drafted, the Government has indicated its support in principle for all 18 recommendations made by the Legal Affairs and Safety Committee Report, Inquiry into support provided to victims of crime (2023). This includes the appointment of a Victims’ Commissioner, work to enhance the flow of information to victims once a matter has been committed to the District or Supreme Court, and improving guidelines used by investigating officers when communicating with victims of crime.

Summary:

The Commission received a complaint made by a mother whose children had been removed from her care by the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs (the Department). The complaint included allegations of failures in communication between the complainant and the Department. The complaint was accepted as alleging limitation on the right to freedom of expression, right to privacy, and right to protection of families and children under the Human Rights Act 2019.

The Commission recommended that the Department consider whether its policies, practices and training:

1. Facilitate the provision of temporary assessment orders to occupiers and parents as soon as possible. For example, this could include the flexibility to immediately provide electronic copies of orders with additional information to follow, and the use of Department staff other than staff on the ground to provide copies of orders and additional information. Consideration of these options protect the rights of parents without risking the safety of the child.
2. Ensure that information regarding the reasons for taking protective action and options towards reunification is clearly communicated to parents, in a way that parents will understand, and taking into account the parents’ communication needs and preferences.
   

Summary:

The Commission received a complaint from a prisoner involving various allegations against a Hospital and Health Service and Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) about his period of incarceration, primarily concerning:

• a significant delay in his transfer to single cell accommodation in accordance with a medical recommendation, due to the prisoner having primary responsibility for passing on the HHS’ recommendation to QCS;
• a failure to provide continuity and equivalence of medical care to that available in the community, including a decision not to continue the prescription medication that had been prescribed to him prior to admission to prison.

The Commission recommended that the Hospital and Health Service review whether its prison policies and procedures are compatible with rights in the Human Rights Act to ensure:

a) Subject to the prisoner’s consent, medical recommendations about the accommodation of prisoners are communicated directly from the Hospital and Health Service to Queensland Corrective Services (QCS).
b) The consideration of factors such as risk of abuse and diversion in prescribing, ceasing and managing medication in prison are demonstrably justified.

The Commission welcomed the response from QCS and the HHS that they were prepared to accept the Commission’s recommendations and have already commenced implementation. This demonstrates a commitment to building a culture of human rights.

Summary:

The complainant was an Aboriginal man with a criminal history and disability. He applied for access approval to see his son in prison. Following an incident in which threats were allegedly made by the complainant, his access approval was suspended for 3 months. When the complainant’s son moved prison, there was confusion as to whether a fresh application for access approval was needed. Ultimately, access approval to the second prison was also suspended .

The complainant’s grievances against Queensland Correct Services included the requirement to have criminal history checks in order to visit prisons, the delays criminal history checks cause to the process, and the impact, particularly the mental health impact, this has on prisoners and their families.

The unresolved complaint report makes a number of recommendations regarding process including that Queensland Corrective Services:

• implement measures to mitigate against undue delay and distress caused by the need to obtain a criminal history check, such as by giving applicants an estimated timeframe for processing applications, providing guidance on the exercise of discretion to give interim approval for a visitor while they are awaiting a decision, and reinforcing the requirement to give procedural fairness to applicants against whom adverse decisions are made on the basis of their criminal history check;
• obtain information from applicants about any accommodation they may need to participate in the application process or visit the prisoner.
• include human rights considerations in their decision letters.
  

Summary:

The complainant told us she is a vulnerable Aboriginal woman aged in her twenties experiencing a range of mental health conditions. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was placed in isolation upon her admission to prison for greater than 14 days. She alleged that during her time in isolation she was deprived of medical treatment, education, exercise, fresh air and reticulated water. Her alleged treatment included a lack of sufficient medical treatment for her mental health. She also alleged that that the respondents failed to facilitate any communication with her mother, and failed to make adequate arrangements telephone calls with her lawyers.

The Commissioner did not make findings of fact regarding her treatment, but recommended that Queensland Corrective Services:

• amend relevant policies to clearly state that prisoners isolated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic should not be isolated for more than 14 days other than where Queensland Health provide clear medical advice that their isolation must continue due to a risk of infection;
• ensure prisoners, while in isolation, receive certain minimum entitlements without the caveat of ‘to the greatest extent possible’ including access to confidential medical assessment and mental health services, adequate facilities to communicate with a lawyer and their family. Prisoners should also be given access to complaints procedures and cultural support; and
• provide prisoners with daily access to fresh air and exercise while in isolation, other than in exceptional circumstances.
  

Summary:

The complainant did not get access to fresh outside air during her 14 day stay in mandatory self-funded hotel quarantine. The windows of her hotel room did not open, and she was not given a fresh air break from her room. The complainant and the respondents disagreed about the reasons for the lack of room breaks. The complaint was not resolved.

In the unresolved complaint report, the Commissioner considered that the complainant’s right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty had been limited and that the Department of Health and/or Queensland Police Service had to demonstrably justify the limitation of the complainant’s rights. To ensure that the acts and decisions of the Queensland government would in future be compatible with human rights, the Commissioner recommended that:

• opening windows or balconies be included as a minimum standard for the selection of quarantine hotels, and plans be put in place to decommission currently used hotels that do not meet these minimum standards; and
• information provided to people in quarantine include improved communication about decision making responsibility, rights of review and appeal, and setting realistic expectations about the conditions of quarantine.