I commend the members who have spoken to the Detention Legislation Amendment (Prohibition on Spit Hoods) Bill 2023 because they come from across the political spectrum, and this is essentially a bill that defends human rights. The prohibition on spit hoods is an important human rights protection and, whilst they are not used in New South Wales, it is important that we make it illegal for that to happen. It has been explained that a spit hood is a hood that covers the face or mouth of the wearer and is usually secured at the base of the wearer's neck. The idea is that it prevents people from spitting on or biting others and it is usually used when trying to restrain someone, normally in law enforcement or perhaps in the mental health sector or prisons and the like.

Given that the hood is usually kept around the neck and that someone who has to be restrained in a way to stop them from spitting or biting is potentially not of sound mind or acting rationally, there is a risk of trauma to the wearer as well as injury or death, and if someone is spat on there are risks of disease. Looking at ways to stop this from happening is a good thing. There are other ways of protecting those dealing with the person being restrained, such as eye protection and mouth protection. Those are the kinds of things that are currently being used in such instances.

In order to prohibit the use of spit hoods, this bill effectively amends six Acts: Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987; Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999; Drug and Alcohol Treatment Act 2007; Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002; Mental Health Act 2007; and Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act of 2020. Each of those essentially defines what a spit hood is and then prevents its use by people in the justice or correctional sector, so Juvenile Justice officers, Corrections officers, police officers et cetera, whilst still able to exercise their functions under each of those Acts, cannot use a spit hood while carrying out those functions. Contravention of those provisions will constitute an unauthorised and unreasonable use of force. The bill goes on to make other amendments. The important point is that extensive stakeholder consultation has been undertaken. The appropriate New South Wales Government agencies have been consulted. The NSW Police Force, the Ministry of Health, Corrective Services and Youth Justice are the primary ones.

The bill follows consideration by the Standing Council of Attorneys-General of the feasibility of a nationally coordinated approach to prohibit the use of spit hoods. It is good that it is not just New South Wales leading the way; it is a national initiative. One jurisdiction still allows the use of spit hoods, and I will come to that, time permitting. The bill is an important reform, which will ensure that when people, unfortunately, need to be detained in this State, for whatever reason, it is done in a safe, secure way and is in line with community expectation, which is, of course, that people should be treated in a humane manner.

In addition to the stakeholder consultation that has been undertaken, recommendations have been made by a number of organisations. For example, in the NGO space, groups such as Amnesty International previously called for a ban on the use of spit hoods. In 2017 in the Northern Territory, a royal commission inquired into the detention of children, and in 2019 the Ombudsman in South Australia undertook an inquiry. Both inquiries recommended that spit hoods should be prohibited in certain settings. In October 2022, the United Nations subcommittee on the prevention of torture visited Australia. In June 2023 it handed down its recommendations, which included a complete ban on the use of spit hoods. Non-government organisations, State jurisdictions, international bodies and representatives of the major parties in this place all recommend that, which is good to see.

Earlier I said that there is one jurisdiction that still allows the use of spit hoods in certain circumstances. But I got that the wrong way around. South Australia is the only jurisdiction with a statutory prohibition on the use of spit hoods. It led the way following a review of the death in the Royal Adelaide Hospital of a person who was on remand and had been restrained and placed in a spit hood. There is a push towards statutory prohibition of the use of spit hoods in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. I strongly suggest that my colleagues in other jurisdictions move quickly to implement that prohibition because it is important to stamp out the use of spit hoods right across Australia. The South Australian Act is omnibus legislation similar to the bill before the House and came into effect in November 2021. I am sure the South Australian legislation has played a part in shaping the provisions of the bill before the House. The bill is an important reform. I am proud to have participated in debate on the bill, and I commend it to the House.