Australian Human Rights Commission Annual Report November 2022 Our regional technical cooperation activities increase stakeholder capacity to advance national reform in partner states. Instances of stakeholders in our activities with organisations reporting that our work has contributed to increased understanding of the impact of their systems and operations on human rights. Instances of stakeholders in our activities with organisations making changes to organisational policy and practice, to respect, protect and promote human rights in their context. Instances of partners’: • increased knowledge and application of human rights frameworks, principles, and practices to advance human rights reform, • practice/policy reform relating to human rights principles, which are reviewed or developed because of technical cooperation activities. OPCAT Implementation Project Australia ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) in December 2017 and is required to be compliant with its OPCAT obligations by the extended deadline of 20 January 2023. Australia has chosen to adopt a multiplebody monitoring system, with each Australian jurisdiction to designate their own National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), and the Commonwealth Ombudsman designated as the NPM Co-ordinator. The OPCAT Implementation Project is designed to build on the Commission’s past work supporting OPCAT implementation, and has the dual purpose of assisting the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments by identifying a clear pathway towards meeting the January 2023 deadline and helping Australia comply with the UN Committee Against Torture’s request for an Action Plan. During the 2021–22 reporting period the Commission developed the National OPCAT symposium and roadmap project and started working towards its delivery. 51