Pre-visit submission to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
September 2025
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) is a body of five independent human rights experts with a mandate to protect individuals against arbitrary deprivation of liberty (or the unjustified taking away of freedom) in all forms.
The UNWGAD is visiting Australia in December 2025. This will involve meeting with Government, civil society and people deprived of their liberty to better understand the situation in Australia and the underlying reasons for arbitrary detention.
The UNWGAD will provide a country visit report following the visit with recommendations.
PWDA led the development of a disability-specific submission to the UNWGAD in advance of the upcoming visit to Australia.
The submission sets out the legal basis as to why disability-specific places of detention, such as group homes and segregated schools, fall within the UNWGAD's mandate.
The report is authored by PWDA, Women with Disabilities Australia and five academics.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1 - Commit to the Disability Royal Commission recommendations
UNWGAD encourages Australian and state and territory governments to fully commit to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability's (Disability Royal Commission) recommendations concerning permanent sterilisation, supported decision-making, inclusive employment, phasing out group homes, adult safeguarding functions, implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and community visitor schemes (see below recommendations and page 33 of the submission for full details).
- Recommendation 6.41: All jurisdictions must amend or enact legislation to prohibit non-therapeutic permanent sterilisation procedures for people with disability by the end of 2024 (Government response: 2 states and territories accepted the recommendation in principle, the Commonwealth and 6 states and territories responded with 'subject to further consideration')
- Recommendation 6.6: States and territories should review and reform their guardianship and administration legislation to include the Disability Royal Commission's supported decision-making principles and Australian Government and state and territory governments to review and reform other laws concerning individual decision-making to give legislative effect to the supported decision-making principles (Government response: The Commonwealth and 6 states and territories accepted the recommendation in principle, 2 states responded with 'subject to further consideration'. No concrete action has been taken to implement this recommendation).
- Recommendation 7.32 (adopted by 4 Commissioners): Develop and implement a National Inclusive Employment Roadmap to transform Australian Disability Enterprises and eliminate subminimum wages by 2034 (Government response: subject to further consideration).
- Recommendation 7.43 (adopted by 4 Commissioners): Develop and implement a roadmap to phase out group homes within 15 years (Government response: subject to further consideration).
- Recommendation 11.1: States and territories should introduce legislation to establish nationally consistent adult safeguarding functions and ensure safeguarding functions are operated by adequately resourced independent statutory bodies (Government response: subject to further consideration).
- Recommendation 11.7: The Australian Government and state/territory governments should agree to provide adequate resources to the National Preventative Mechanism and enact legislation incorporating a broader definition of 'places of detention' that includes all places where people with disability may be deprived of their liberty (Government response: accepted in principle by theCommonwealth Government and 3 states and territories, subject to further consideration by 5 states and territories).
- Recommendation 11.12: States and territories to urgently implement community visitor schemes for people with disability if they have not done so already and agree to make community visitor schemes nationally consistent (Government response: accepted in principle by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments).
Recommendation 2 - Adopt a national Human Rights Act
The UNWGAD meets with the Commonwealth Attorney-General to encourage Australia to adopt a national Human Rights Act and implement relevant Disability Royal Commission recommendations.
Recommendation 3 - Visit disability-specific places of detention
The UNWGAD visits disability-specific places of detention during its visit.
