Australia fails to vote on bills protecting women in labour and children in custody

Women in custody retain their rights to dignity, humane treatment and appropriate healthcare, the experts said.

UN experts criticised the Australian Parliament for failing to vote on 15 October on two bills intended to protect women and children in custody. The proposals would have barred shackling women during labour, childbirth and the immediate period after birth, and strengthened protections for children facing strip-searches. The bills had support from a majority of crossbench parliamentarians.

In a communication to the Australian Government, the experts welcomed both proposals as steps toward meeting international human rights obligations. They said the measures reflected established standards and addressed concerns raised by advocates, legal experts, national inquiries and UN bodies. The experts said the failure to bring the bills to a vote should not end efforts to change the law.

Women in custody retain their rights to dignity, humane treatment and appropriate healthcare, the experts said. Restraints during childbirth can create medical risks for women and newborns, interfere with care and cause psychological harm. Strip-searches can seriously affect children's privacy, dignity, bodily integrity and mental wellbeing.

Experts warn of harm from restraints and strip-searches

The experts said decisions affecting children should centre their rights and best interests, with security measures limited to what is necessary and proportionate. They called for the least intrusive measures available to address safety concerns. Their concerns apply to children deprived of liberty and the serious impact an invasive search can have on them.

The experts said these practices can have particularly severe effects on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children. They continue to experience disproportionate contact with detention and criminal justice systems, alongside discrimination, overrepresentation in custody and intergenerational trauma. The experts urged lawmakers to take these intersecting impacts into account when setting custody standards.

UN experts call for consistent safeguards

The experts called on Australia's federal, state and territory authorities to strengthen legal protections for women and children in custody. They urged governments to establish consistent national standards and ensure custodial treatment complies with international human rights law. They said those standards should reflect trauma-informed practice and respect for human dignity.

The experts encouraged Australian authorities and parliamentarians to continue pursuing both reforms. They said the proposed childbirth protections and limits on invasive strip-searches address longstanding human rights concerns. The proposals, they said, would help protect the dignity, bodily integrity and rights of people in custodial settings.