range of community service providers who engage directly with current and former detainees, and written information was received from five such organisations. The Commission engaged Dr Suresh Sundram as an independent medical consultant to participate in the inspection visits and provide advice on issues relating to the physical and mental health of people being detained in hotel APODs. Dr Sundram is the Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University and the Director of Research, Mental Health Program at Monash Health. He has particular expertise in the area of forced migrant mental health, and is the head of the Asylum Seeker and Refugee Mental Health research group at the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health. While conducting the relevant inspection visits, interviews and meetings, the Commission focused on gathering information about conditions and the treatment of detainees in hotel APODs. Information was also gathered with respect to the circumstances surrounding the release of detainees from hotel APODs and their experiences following release. The Commission considered the material gathered during the inspection by reference to international human rights law standards that are relevant to immigration detention, as outlined below. 2.4 Relevant human rights standards The following international human rights treaties, which Australia has ratified, contain obligations that are relevant to the conditions and treatment of people in immigration detention: • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) • Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention). • International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) • Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) • Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) • Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) • Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) Australia has a range of specific obligations that are applicable with respect to refugees and asylum seekers under the Refugee Convention. The Use of Hotels as Alternative Places of Detention (APODs) • 2023 • 11