Monitoring places of detention

Aroturuki i ngā wāhi whakarau

The Ombudsman visits places where people are detained to check their treatment and conditions.

Places that people cannot leave at will, and the Ombudsman inspects, include:

prisons
court facilities
mental health facilities
intellectual disability facilities
aged care facilities
COVID-19 managed isolation and quarantine facilities
immigration detention centres.

The Ombudsman then makes recommendations to these places where necessary to improve the conditions of detention and detainee treatment.

OPCAT inspection reports

For more information about this work see:

Aged care facilities monitoring programme
Court facilities monitoring programme
COVID-19 managed isolation and quarantine facilities monitoring programme

Information about this work is available in multiple languages and accessible formats.

Monitoring places of detention pamphlet

COVID-19

The Chief Ombudsman’s designation on 1 April 2020 as an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic required him to reset his planned inspection programme. He issued a set of principles to guide facilities and their staff in managing this crisis, while meeting Aotearoa New Zealand’s international human rights obligations.

During 2020, he conducted a series of short, targeted inspections to provide an independent assessment of how detention facilities responded to COVID-19. These resources provide more information about his inspections during the pandemic.