Australian Human Rights Commission Report title October 2022 30. The Commission recommends attention be given to ensuring Article 18 is complied with in the staffing of NPMs. Specific efforts, including special measures, should be made to employ First Nations staff and people with a lived experience of disability.32 31. The Commission considers it necessary for all NPMs to have technical expertise about child development, children’s rights, trauma and how detention can affect children – particularly when visiting institutions where children and young people are detained.33 32. The Commission emphasises the importance of ongoing involvement in the OPCAT process of civil society organisations, academic and other experts and people with lived experience of detention.34 Both domestic and international commentators, including the UN SPT and UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, have recommended strong and formal relationships be established between the NPM and civil society.35 33. Funding has emerged as a significant issue delaying the establishment of the Australian NPM Network.36 In July 2021 the Australian Government pledged ‘funding over two years from 2021–22 to support states and territories’,37 however ‘jurisdictions are responsible for funding their own oversight and detention arrangements on an ongoing basis’.38 34. The Commission is of the view that establishing and maintaining oversight mechanisms to perform the role of NPMs in each jurisdiction in Australia requires modest changes to existing legislation, resourcing and oversight mechanisms. The longstanding delays in implementing OPCAT are concerning to the Commission. 35. The Commission recommends that all national, state and territory governments in Australia finalise the process of designating oversight mechanisms as the NPM for their respective jurisdictions, including any changes necessary to broaden their mandates and meet the requirements of OPCAT. They also need to provide sufficient resources to enable NPMs to meet their responsibilities. Resourcing should be provided in a way that enables NPM bodies to fulfil OPCAT’s core functions; respects the functional, structural and personal independence of NPM bodies; and ensures effective liaison with, and involvement of, civil society representatives and people with lived experience of detention in the OPCAT inspection process.39 36. The Commission considers that progress has been too slow to date and that immediate action is needed to fast-track implementation to ensure that Australia complies with the 20 January 2023 extended deadline. 9