About us

Summary of our role

The Custodial Inspector oversees ‘custodial centres’.

Custodial centres are the prisons run by the Tasmania Prison Service and the detention centre run by the Department for Education, Children and Young People. They are:

Tasmania Prison Service:

  • Ron Barwick Minimum Security Prison
  • Risdon Prison Complex (medium and maximum security and the Southern Remand Centre)
  • Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison
  • Hobart Reception Prison
  • Launceston Reception Prison.

Department for Education, Children and Young People:

  • Ashley Youth Detention Centre (AYDC).

The Custodial Inspector’s position and the office are set up by law and are independent. They work proactively and in a preventive way.

The Inspector has two areas of focus:

  • the care and welfare of prisoners and detainees
  • the systems of management, control, and security that are used.

The Inspector conducts inspections of custodial centres, and then publishes reports with recommendations.

The current Custodial Inspector is Mr Richard Connock.

The Custodial Inspector does not investigate individual complaints. If you have an individual complaint, please direct this to the Tasmanian Ombudsman.

Inspections

The Custodial Inspector can inspect prisons or AYDC at any time and make recommendations for improvement. The Custodial Inspector gives mandatory inspection reports to the Minister responsible for prisons or AYDC, and the Minister must table the Inspector’s report in each House of Parliament. The Custodial Inspector may also do inspections on specific topics, in addition to mandatory inspections. They can table these in Parliament directly.

The Custodial Inspector’s office has developed Inspection Standards for prisons and AYDC. These are the standards they expect for humane, effective, and accountable detention and are used to guide mandatory inspections. The office considered all relevant international treaties, covenants and the Standard Guidelines for Corrections in Australia when writing the Inspection Standards.

Copies of the standards are on the Standards & guidelines page.

The Minister responsible for the prison or AYDC can also ask for an inspection to be done. Either House of Parliament or their committees may also ask the Custodial Inspector to report to Parliament. They may ask for a report about a particular issue or a general matter relating to the Inspector’s functions.

The legislation behind the Office

The Custodial Inspector oversees all custodial centres in Tasmania.

The Custodial Inspector Act 2016 describes the Custodial Inspector’s role. The main functions are:

  • inspect and review each custodial centre in Tasmania
  • prepare and publish guidelines about how to conduct inspections and reviews
  • report to the Minister and Parliament on inspections and any issues or general matters relating to the Inspector’s functions
  • provide an annual report to Parliament
  • provide advice or recommendations in any such report about the safety, custody, care, wellbeing and rehabilitation of prisoners and detainees
  • provide information about education and programs to help rehabilitate prisoners and detainees.

The Custodial Inspector Act 2016 also gives the Custodial Inspector powers. Broadly, the powers of the Custodial Inspector include the right to:

  • visit and examine any custodial centre and any areas related to it
  • obtain documents and information relating to custodial centres and prisoners or detainees, including obtaining information from people.

The current Custodial Inspector

Tasmania’s first Custodial Inspector, Mr Richard Connock, was appointed in January 2017 after the Custodial Inspector Act 2016 was passed. He remains in the role today, and he is also the Tasmanian Ombudsman and Health Complaints Commissioner.

Mr Connock has extensive experience as a barrister and solicitor, mainly in Victoria. He moved to Tasmania in 2000, where he focused more on consultancy than legal work. He provided investigation, conciliation and mediation services for several government departments and private organisations before he joined the Office of the Ombudsman.