{"id":"a-2012-33","name":"Official Visitor Act 2012","slug":"official-visitor-act-2012","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"33 of 2012","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":24035,"registerId":"act-a-2012-33-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Official Visitor Act 2012","content":"Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nA2012-33\nRepublication No 16\nEffective: 24 February 2026\nRepublication date: 24 February 2026\nLast amendment made by A2026-4\n(republication for expiry of validation provisions (pt 12))\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Official Visitor Act 2012 (including any amendment made under the\nLegislation Act 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes)) as in force on 24 February 2026. It also\nincludes any commencement, amendment, repeal or expiry affecting this republished law to\n24 February 2026.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the ACT\nlegislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n• authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n• unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made by\nan Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117). The\nchanges are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law into\nline, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately\nbefore the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law\nare accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more\ninformation, see the home page for this law on the register.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the\nsymbol M appears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying\nprovision appears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation\nAct 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $160 for an\nindividual and $810 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nContents\nPage\nPart 1 Preliminary\n1 Name of Act 2\n3 Dictionary 2\n4 Notes 2\n5 Offences against Act—application of Criminal Code etc 2\nPart 2 Important concepts\n6 Who is an official visitor? 3\n7 What is an operational Act? 3\n8 Who is an entitled person? 3\n9 What is a visitable place? 4\n9A Authorisation to visit places 4\nPart 3 Appointment of official visitors\n10 Appointment 5\n\nContents\nPage\ncontents 2 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n11 Conditions of appointment 6\n12 Ending appointment 6\n13 Handover of records by official visitors 7\nPart 4 Functions of official visitors\n14 Official visitor functions 9\n14A Independence of official visitors 10\n14B Conflict of interest 10\n15 Official visitor may enter visitable place etc 10\n16 Official visitor must report non-compliant visitable places 12\n17 Reporting of complaints 13\n18 Assistance to official visitors 15\n19 Offences—failure to provide assistance etc 15\nPart 5 Visits and complaints\n20 Operating entity must let entitled people know about official visitors 17\n21 Requests to meet official visitor 17\n22 Complaints to official visitors 18\nPart 5A Official visitors board\n23A Establishment of official visitors board 19\n23B Membership of official visitors board 19\n23C Official visitors board functions 20\n23D Official visitors board procedure 21\n23DA Board annual report 21\nPart 6 Miscellaneous\n23DB Register of visitable places 23\n23E Voting at meetings 24\n23F Minister may make guidelines 25\n24 Protection of officials from liability 25\n24A Protection from liability 26\n25 Offences—use or divulge protected information 26\n25A Information sharing between official visitors 28\n26 Approved forms 29\n\nContents\nPage\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\ncontents 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n27 Regulation-making power 29\nDictionary 30\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 32\n2 Abbreviation key 32\n3 Legislation history 33\n4 Amendment history 35\n5 Earlier republications 40\n6 Expired transitional or validating provisions 42\n\n\n\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nAn Act to provide for the appointment of official visitors, and for other purposes\n\nPart 1 Preliminary\nSection 1\npage 2 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 1 Preliminary\n1 Name of Act\nThis Act is the Official Visitor Act 2012.\n3 Dictionary\nThe dictionary at the end of this Act is part of this Act.\nNote 1 The dictionary at the end of this Act defines certain terms used in this\nAct, and includes references (signpost definitions) to other terms defined\nelsewhere in this Act.\nFor example, the signpost definition ‘operational Act—see section 7.’\nmeans that the term ‘operational Act’ is defined in that section.\nNote 2 A definition in the dictionary (including a signpost definition) applies to\nthe entire Act unless the definition, or another provision of the Act,\nprovides otherwise or the contrary intention otherwise appears\n(see Legislation Act, s 155 and s 156 (1)).\n4 Notes\nA note included in this Act is explanatory and is not part of this Act.\nNote See the Legislation Act, s 127 (1), (4) and (5) for the legal status of notes.\n5 Offences against Act—application of Criminal Code etc\nOther legislation applies in relation to offences against this Act.\nNote 1 Criminal Code\nThe Criminal Code, ch 2 applies to all offences against this Act\n(see Code, pt 2.1).\nThe chapter sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility\n(including burdens of proof and general defences), and defines terms used\nfor offences to which the Code applies (eg conduct, intention,\nrecklessness and strict liability).\nNote 2 Penalty units\nThe Legislation Act, s 133 deals with the meaning of offence penalties\nthat are expressed in penalty units.\n\nImportant concepts Part 2\nSection 6\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 2 Important concepts\n6 Who is an official visitor?\nFor this Act:\nofficial visitor, for a visitable place, means a person authorised to visit\nthe place under section 9A.\n7 What is an operational Act?\nEach of the following is an operational Act:\n(a) the Children and Young People Act 2008;\n(b) the Corrections Management Act 2007;\n(c) the Disability Services Act 1991;\n(d) the Housing Assistance Act 2007;\n(e) the Mental Health Act 2015.\nNote A reference to an Act includes a reference to the statutory instruments\nmade or in force under the Act, including regulations (see Legislation\nAct, s 104).\n8 Who is an entitled person?\nFor this Act:\nentitled person, at a visitable place, means—\n(a) for a visitable place under the Children and Young People\nAct 2008—see that Act, section 37, definition of entitled\nperson; and\n(b) for a visitable place under the Corrections Management\nAct 2007—see that Act, section 57, definition of entitled\nperson; and\n(c) for a visitable place under the Disability Services Act 1991—\nsee that Act, section 8A, definition of entitled person; and\n\nPart 2 Important concepts\nSection 9\npage 4 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(d) for a visitable place under the Housing Assistance Act 2007—\nsee that Act, section 25V, definition of entitled person; and\n(e) for a visitable place under the Mental Health Act 2015—\nsee that Act, section 208, definition of entitled person.\n9 What is a visitable place?\nFor this Act:\nvisitable place means a place mentioned in each of the following:\n(a) the Children and Young People Act 2008, section 37, definition\nof visitable place;\n(b) the Corrections Management Act 2007, section 57, definition of\nvisitable place;\n(c) the Disability Services Act 1991, section 8B;\n(d) the Housing Assistance Act 2007, section 25V, definition of\nvisitable place;\n(e) the Mental Health Act 2015, section 208, definition of visitable\nplace.\n9A Authorisation to visit places\n(1) An official visitor appointed under section 10 (1) for a visitable place\nis authorised to visit the place.\n(2) An official visitor appointed under section 10 (1) for a visitable place\nis authorised to visit another visitable place if asked, in writing, to\nvisit the place, or deal with an entitled person at the place, by—\n(a) an official visitor appointed under section 10 (1) for the place;\nor\n(b) the official visitors board.\n\nAppointment of official visitors Part 3\nSection 10\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 3 Appointment of official visitors\n10 Appointment\n(1) The Minister must appoint the following:\n(a) for a visitable place under the Children and Young People\nAct 2008—at least 2 official visitors, including 1 official visitor\nwho is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person;\n(b) for a visitable place under the Corrections Management\nAct 2007—at least 2 official visitors, including 1 official visitor\nwho is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person;\n(c) for a visitable place under the Disability Services Act 1991—\nat least 1 official visitor;\n(d) for a visitable place under the Housing Assistance Act 2007—\nat least 1 official visitor;\n(e) for a visitable place under the Mental Health Act 2015—at least\n1 official visitor.\n(2) The Minister may appoint a person as an official visitor for a visitable\nplace only if—\n(a) the Minister has consulted the operational Minister for the place;\nand\n(b) satisfied on reasonable grounds that the person has suitable\nqualifications or experience to exercise the functions of an\nofficial visitor for the place.\n(3) However, the Minister must not appoint a person as an official visitor\nfor a visitable place if the person—\n(a) is a public servant; or\n(b) has an actual or perceived conflict of interest that would prevent\nthe official visitor from properly carrying out the functions of an\nofficial visitor for the place.\n\nPart 3 Appointment of official visitors\nSection 11\npage 6 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(4) An operational Act may prescribe additional requirements for\ndeciding whether or not to appoint a person as an official visitor for a\nvisitable place.\n(5) In this section:\nAboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person means a person who—\n(a) is a descendant of an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander\nperson; and\n(b) identifies as an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander\nperson; and\n(c) is accepted as an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander\nperson by an Aboriginal community or Torres Strait Islander\ncommunity.\n11 Conditions of appointment\n(1) An appointment as an official visitor must not be for longer than\n3 years.\n(2) The conditions of appointment of an official visitor are the conditions\nagreed between the Minister and the person, subject to any\ndetermination under the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1995.\nNote 1 For the making of appointments (including acting appointments), see the\nLegislation Act, pt 19.3.\nNote 2 Certain Ministerial appointments require consultation with an Assembly\ncommittee and are disallowable (see Legislation Act, div 19.3.3).\nNote 3 A person may be reappointed to a position if the person is eligible to be\nappointed to the position (see Legislation Act, s 208 and dict, pt 1,\ndef appoint).\n12 Ending appointment\n(1) The Minister may end a person’s appointment as an official visitor—\n(a) for misbehaviour; or\n\nAppointment of official visitors Part 3\nSection 13\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 7\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(b) if the person—\n(i) does not comply with any requirement in a guideline made\nunder section 23F; and\n(ii) continues to fail to visit the visitable place as required for\n4 consecutive weeks; or\n(c) if an operational Act prescribes requirements that the person\nmust satisfy to be appointed as an official visitor—if the person\nno longer satisfies the criteria.\n(2) The Minister must end the person’s appointment as an official\nvisitor—\n(a) for physical or mental incapacity, if the incapacity substantially\naffects the exercise of the person’s functions; or\n(b) if the person fails to take all reasonable steps to avoid being\nplaced in a position where a conflict of interest arises during the\nexercise of the person’s functions.\n(3) A person’s appointment as an official visitor ends, by force of this\nsection, if the person becomes a public servant.\nNote A person’s appointment also ends if the person resigns (see Legislation\nAct, s 210).\n13 Handover of records by official visitors\n(1) This section applies if a person’s appointment as an official visitor\nends.\n(2) The person must, not later than 7 days after the day the appointment\nends, give any official visitor record held by the person in relation to\na visitable place to—\n(a) the official visitors executive officer; or\n(b) another official visitor for the place.\n\nPart 3 Appointment of official visitors\nSection 13\npage 8 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(3) In this section:\nofficial visitor record held by a person, means—\n(a) a record made or received by the person because of the person’s\nfunctions as an official visitor; or\n(b) information held by the person because of the person’s functions\nas an official visitor.\n\nFunctions of official visitors Part 4\nSection 14\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 9\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 4 Functions of official visitors\n14 Official visitor functions\n(1) An official visitor for a visitable place has the following functions:\n(a) to visit the place and meet entitled people at the place;\n(b) to monitor conditions, services and practices in the place;\n(c) to investigate and seek to resolve complaints from, or on behalf\nof, entitled people at the place;\n(d) to identify and report on systemic issues adversely affecting\nentitled people at the place;\n(e) if appropriate, to refer complaints or issues from, or on behalf\nof, entitled people at the place to relevant investigative entities;\n(f) to report to the Minister and operational Minister for the place\nas required under this Act;\n(g) to exercise any other function given to an official visitor under\nthis Act, an operational Act or another territory law.\n(2) An official visitor must, in exercising the official visitor’s\nfunctions—\n(a) respect and promote the human rights of entitled people; and\n(b) promote the provision of services to, and care and treatment of,\nentitled people that is high quality and centres on the needs of\nentitled people; and\n(c) have regard to the wishes of entitled people in relation to visits\nto visitable places and how complaints from or on behalf of\nentitled people are dealt with; and\n\nPart 4 Functions of official visitors\nSection 14A\npage 10 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(d) encourage the early resolution of complaints from, or on behalf\nof, entitled people whenever reasonable and practicable to do so;\nand\n(e) have regard to the objects and principles in operational Acts.\n14A Independence of official visitors\nExcept as provided in this Act or another territory law, an official\nvisitor is not subject to the direction of anyone else in relation to the\nexercise of a function under this Act.\n14B Conflict of interest\n(1) An official visitor must take all reasonable steps to avoid being placed\nin a position where a conflict of interest arises during the exercise of\nthe official visitor’s functions.\n(2) An official visitor must give written notice of the following to the\nofficial visitors board:\n(a) any paid employment the official visitor proposes to undertake;\n(b) any activity the official visitor proposes to undertake that may\ngive rise to a conflict of interest during the exercise of the\nofficial visitor’s functions.\n15 Official visitor may enter visitable place etc\n(1) An official visitor for a visitable place may, at any reasonable time,\nenter the visitable place following a complaint or at the official\nvisitor’s own initiative.\nExample—time that would not be reasonable\na time that would hinder a search, or coincide with an escape attempt, at a visitable\nplace\n\nFunctions of official visitors Part 4\nSection 15\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 11\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(2) The official visitor may, when at the visitable place, inspect any\nhealth record or any other record relating to an entitled person at the\nvisitable place if—\n(a) the official visitor has the entitled person’s—\n(i) written consent; or\n(ii) oral consent, if a written record of the consent is made by\na person who heard the consent being given; or\n(b) the official visitor—\n(i) has taken reasonable steps to find out if the entitled person\nconsents; and\n(ii) reasonably believes the entitled person may not be able to\nmake a decision about consent or communicate that\ndecision; and\n(iii) reasonably believes that access to the record is necessary\nand appropriate to allow the official visitor to exercise the\nofficial visitor’s functions under this Act; and\n(iv) the entitled person has not told, or otherwise indicated to,\nthe official visitor that the person does not consent.\nExamples—other record relating to an entitled person\nfor an entitled person in a mental health facility—dietary plans, behavioural plans,\nrecords about seclusion or chemical restraint, day plans, lists of rostered carers\n(3) If subsection (2) (b) applies and an official visitor inspects a record,\nthe official visitor must, as soon as practicable, take reasonable steps\nto make the entitled person aware that the records were inspected.\n(4) The operating entity for a visitable place must keep a record of each\ntime an official visitor accesses a record in accordance with\nsubsection (2) (b).\n(5) The official visitor may also, when at the visitable place, inspect any\nother record required to be kept under the operational Act.\n\nPart 4 Functions of official visitors\nSection 16\npage 12 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(6) Subsection (2) (b) does not apply to any sensitive information\n(as defined under the Children and Young People Act 2008,\nsection 845) included in a record.\nNote The Children and Young People Act 2008, s 39 also deals with access to\nsensitive information by an official visitor.\n(7) Without limiting this section, the operational Act may prescribe\nminimum requirements for—\n(a) a visit by the official visitor to the visitable place; and\n(b) inspecting records under this section.\n16 Official visitor must report non-compliant visitable places\n(1) This section applies if an official visitor for a visitable place believes\non reasonable grounds that any of the following is not in accordance\nwith the operational Act for the place:\n(a) the care and other services provided to an entitled person at the\nplace;\n(b) the living conditions and activities of an entitled person at the\nplace;\n(c) if an entitled person is detained under the operational Act at the\nplace—the detention of the person at the place (including any\naspect of the treatment, living conditions, work or activities of\nthe detainee).\n(2) The official visitor—\n(a) must report the belief to the operational Minister; and\n(b) may report the belief to—\n(i) the relevant director-general; and\n(ii) the public advocate; and\n\nFunctions of official visitors Part 4\nSection 17\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 13\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(iii) if the entitled person is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait\nIslander child or young person—the Aboriginal and Torres\nStrait Islander children and young people commissioner;\nand\n(iv) the official visitors board; and\n(v) the senior practitioner.\n(3) An operational Act may prescribe other reporting requirements for\nthe visitable place.\n17 Reporting of complaints\n(1) An official visitor for a visitable place must prepare for each\nquarter—\n(a) a written report (a full report) stating—\n(i) the number and kinds of complaints received by the official\nvisitor in relation to the place; and\n(ii) the action taken on the complaints received; and\n(iii) the number of visits by the official visitor to the place; and\n(iv) the number and kinds of matters referred by the official\nvisitor to an investigative entity; and\n(v) any systemic issues identified by the official visitor; and\n(vi) the number of times the official visitor inspected records in\naccordance with section 15 (2) (b); and\n(b) a written report (a summary report) summarising the matters\nmentioned in paragraph (a).\n(2) The full report may include—\n(a) comments by the official visitor about anything in relation to a\ncomplaint mentioned in the report; and\n\nPart 4 Functions of official visitors\nSection 17\npage 14 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(b) recommendations about any systemic issues identified by the\nofficial visitor.\n(3) The official visitor must give a copy of—\n(a) the full report, as soon as practicable after the end of each\nquarter, to—\n(i) the operational Minister for the visitable place; and\n(ii) if the official visitor makes a recommendation in relation\nto the administrative unit responsible for administering the\noperational Act for the place—the relevant\ndirector-general for the place; and\n(b) the summary report, as soon as practicable after the end of each\nquarter, to the following:\n(i) the Minister;\n(ii) the official visitors board;\n(iii) the official visitors executive officer.\n(4) The official visitor may also give a copy of the report to any of the\nfollowing:\n(a) the relevant director-general for the visitable place;\n(b) the public advocate;\n(c) if the report includes matters in relation to Aboriginal and Torres\nStrait Islander children or young people—the Aboriginal and\nTorres Strait Islander children and young people commissioner;\n(d) if the report includes matters in relation to an administrative unit\nor operational Act for which another Minister is responsible—\nthe other Minister.\n(5) Information that identifies an entitled person at the visitable place—\n(a) must not be included in a report to the Minister; and\n\nFunctions of official visitors Part 4\nSection 18\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 15\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(b) for any other report—may only be included in the report if the\nofficial visitor considers it necessary to deal with a complaint\nmentioned or issue raised in the report.\n(6) In this section:\ninvestigative entity means an entity with power to require the\nproduction of documents or the answering of questions including, for\nexample, the chief police officer, the human rights commission, the\nAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people\ncommissioner, the ombudsman and the integrity commissioner.\n18 Assistance to official visitors\n(1) An operating entity for a visitable place must give an official visitor\nfor the place any reasonable assistance the official visitor asks for to\nexercise the official visitor’s functions at the place.\nExamples\n1 giving access to documents and records relating to a complaint\n2 answering reasonable questions about the facts of a complaint\n3 giving reasonable access to facilities\nNote The Legislation Act, s 170 deals with the application of the privilege\nagainst self-incrimination.\n(2) An operating entity may only give an official visitor access to an\nentitled person’s health record if the official visitor has complied with\nsection 15 (2) (a) or (b).\n19 Offences—failure to provide assistance etc\n(1) A person in charge of an operating entity for a visitable place must\nnot, without reasonable excuse—\n(a) refuse or neglect to render assistance if asked by an official\nvisitor under section 18; or\n\nPart 4 Functions of official visitors\nSection 19\npage 16 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(b) fail to answer any question if asked by an official visitor in the\nexercise of the official visitor’s functions.\nMaximum penalty: 50 penalty units.\n(2) A person in charge of an operating entity for a visitable place must\nnot, without reasonable excuse, obstruct or hinder an official visitor\nin the exercise of the official visitor’s functions.\nMaximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 6 months or\nboth.\n(3) A person in charge of an operating entity for a visitable place must\nkeep a record of each visit by an official visitor to the visitable place.\nMaximum penalty: 5 penalty units.\n(4) In this section:\nperson in charge, of an operating entity, means—\n(a) if the operating entity is the Territory—the relevant\ndirector-general; and\n(b) in any other case—the person in charge of the entity.\n\nVisits and complaints Part 5\nSection 20\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 17\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 5 Visits and complaints\n20 Operating entity must let entitled people know about\nofficial visitors\n(1) An operating entity for a visitable place must tell an entitled person\nat the visitable place, or a person acting on the entitled person’s\nbehalf, about—\n(a) the functions of an official visitor; and\n(b) how the official visitor may be contacted.\n(2) Without limiting subsection (1), an operating entity for a visitable\nplace must, not later than when an entitled person first enters the\nplace, give the person information about their right to make\ncomplaints under this Act in a way that is accessible to the person.\nExamples—giving information\n1 if an entitled person is likely to go to a common area in a visitable place—\na notice in a prominent position on the wall in the area\n2 if it is not practicable or appropriate to put up a notice in a visitable place—\ngive an entitled person a pamphlet\n3 if an entitled person is not able to see or understand information in writing—\ntell the person orally\n4 if an entitled person is not able to understand the information—give written\ninformation to the person’s legal guardian\n21 Requests to meet official visitor\n(1) This section applies if an entitled person at a visitable place tells the\noperating entity for the place that the person wants to meet an official\nvisitor.\n(2) The operating entity must ensure that an official visitor for the\nvisitable place is told of the request as soon as practicable, but not\nlater than 24 hours after the request is made.\n\nPart 5 Visits and complaints\nSection 22\npage 18 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(3) An operating entity must not ask an entitled person, and the person\nneed not explain to the operating entity, why the person wants to meet\nan official visitor.\n22 Complaints to official visitors\n(1) An entitled person at a visitable place, or anyone else, may complain\nto an official visitor for the place about any aspect of the person’s\naccommodation including—\n(a) the conditions of accommodation of an entitled person; or\n(b) the care or services provided to an entitled person at the place;\nor\n(c) the activities available to an entitled person at the place; or\n(d) how the place is conducted.\n(2) The entitled person may make the complaint to the official visitor\npersonally or through someone else.\n(3) The entitled person may ask to make a complaint—\n(a) to the official visitor with no-one else present; and\n(b) to an official visitor of the same gender.\n(4) If the official visitor agrees that the complaint may be made with only\nthe entitled person present, the operating entity must provide\nreasonably private facilities for the complaint to be made.\n(5) In this section:\naccommodation, of an entitled person, includes, if an entitled person\nis detained or confined under an operational Act at a visitable place,\nthe person’s detention or confinement.\n\nOfficial visitors board Part 5A\nSection 23A\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 19\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 5A Official visitors board\n23A Establishment of official visitors board\nThe official visitors board is established.\n23B Membership of official visitors board\n(1) The official visitors board is made up of—\n(a) the public trustee and guardian; and\n(b) at least 1 commissioner under the Human Rights Commission\nAct 2005 nominated by the commissioners under that Act; and\n(c) 2 official visitors elected by the official visitors; and\n(d) any other members appointed by the Minister under\nsubsection (2).\n(2) The Minister—\n(a) must appoint the chair of the board; and\n(b) may appoint other members of the board as the Minister\nconsiders appropriate.\nNote 1 For the making of appointments (including acting appointments), see the\nLegislation Act, pt 19.3.\nNote 2 In particular, a person may be appointed for a particular provision of a\nlaw (see Legislation Act, s 7 (3)) and an appointment may be made by\nnaming a person or nominating the occupant of a position (see Legislation\nAct, s 207).\nNote 3 Certain Ministerial appointments require consultation with an Assembly\ncommittee and are disallowable (see Legislation Act, div 19.3.3).\n(3) The Minister may determine procedures for subsection (1) (c).\n(4) A determination is a notifiable instrument.\n\nPart 5A Official visitors board\nSection 23C\npage 20 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n23C Official visitors board functions\n(1) The official visitors board has the following functions:\n(a) to oversee the exercise of functions by official visitors under\nthis Act, an operational Act or another territory law;\n(b) to arrange for the recruitment, induction, training and support of\nofficial visitors;\n(c) to provide support for and manage the exercise of functions by\nofficial visitors under this Act, an operational Act or another\nterritory law;\n(d) to consider and try to resolve any complaints about official\nvisitors;\n(e) to exercise any other function given to the board under this Act,\nan operational Act or another territory law.\n(2) The chair of the board may arrange with the head of service to use the\nservices of a public servant (the official visitors executive officer)\nto—\n(a) provide support to the board in the exercise of the board’s\nfunctions; and\n(b) exercise any other function given to the official visitors\nexecutive officer under this Act, an operational Act or another\nterritory law.\nNote The head of service may delegate powers in relation to the management\nof public servants to a public servant or another person (see Public Sector\nManagement Act 1994, s 18).\n(3) The chair of official visitors board may delegate the board’s functions\nunder this Act, an operational Act or another territory law to the\nofficial visitors executive officer or another public servant.\nNote For the making of delegations and the exercise of delegated functions,\nsee the Legislation Act, pt 19.4.\n\nOfficial visitors board Part 5A\nSection 23D\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 21\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n23D Official visitors board procedure\n(1) Meetings of the official visitors board are to be held when and where\nit decides.\n(2) However—\n(a) the official visitors board must meet at least quarterly; and\n(b) the chair of the board may, by reasonable written notice given\nto the other board members, call a meeting.\n(3) The official visitors board may conduct its proceedings (including its\nmeetings) as it considers appropriate.\n23DA Board annual report\n(1) The official visitors board must give the Minister, within 3 months\nafter the end of a financial year, a written report for the financial year\nabout—\n(a) the number of—\n(i) visits by official visitors to visitable places; and\n(ii) complaints received by official visitors in relation to\nvisitable places; and\n(iii) referrals of complaints to investigative entities; and\n(b) the action taken on the complaints received; and\n(c) any systemic issues in relation to the operation of the Act\nidentified by the board; and\n(d) the number and kinds of matters referred by an official visitor to\nan investigative entity; and\n(e) the number of times an official visitor inspected records in\naccordance with section 15 (2) (b).\n\nPart 5A Official visitors board\nSection 23DA\npage 22 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(2) The Minister must present the report to the Legislative Assembly\nwithin 6 sitting days after being given a copy of the report by the\nboard.\n(3) The Minister must give additional public notice of the report.\nNote Public notice means notice on an ACT government website or in a daily\nnewspaper circulating in the ACT (see Legislation Act, dict, pt 1). The\nrequirement in s (3) is in addition to the requirement for the Minister to\npresent the report to the Legislative Assembly under s (2).\n(4) In this section:\ninvestigative entity means an entity with power to require the\nproduction of documents or the answering of questions including, for\nexample, the chief police officer, the human rights commission, the\nAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people\ncommissioner, the ombudsman and the integrity commissioner.\n\nMiscellaneous Part 6\nSection 23DB\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 23\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nPart 6 Miscellaneous\n23DB Register of visitable places\n(1) The relevant director-general for a visitable place must keep a register\nof each visitable place mentioned under the relevant operational Act.\n(2) The register—\n(a) must include—\n(i) the address of each visitable place; and\n(ii) if relevant for a visitable place—the contact details of a\nperson who can provide access to the place; and\n(iii) any information prescribed by an operational Act; and\n(b) may include—\n(i) the name of each entitled person at each visitable place;\nand\n(ii) the name and contact details of each operating entity for\neach visitable place; and\n(iii) if an operating entity for a visitable place is not an\nindividual—the name, phone number and email address of\nthe following:\n(A) an employee or volunteer based at the place;\n(B) 2 employees of the entity.\n(3) The relevant director-general for a visitable place must, on request,\ngive information on the register to any of the following:\n(a) an official visitor for the place;\n(b) the official visitors board;\n(c) the official visitors executive officer;\n\nPart 6 Miscellaneous\nSection 23E\npage 24 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(d) the public advocate;\n(e) the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young\npeople commissioner;\n(f) a commissioner under the Human Rights Commission Act 2005;\n(g) the senior practitioner.\n(4) The relevant director-general for a visitable place may, on request,\ngive the information mentioned in subsection (2) (a) to any of the\nfollowing people, if satisfied giving the information is reasonable in\nthe circumstances:\n(a) a person exercising a function under this Act or the operational\nAct;\n(b) a member of the emergency services under the Emergencies\nAct 2004;\n(c) an entitled person at the place;\n(d) a carer or legal representative of an entitled person at the place;\n(e) anyone else approved by the relevant director-general.\n(5) In this section:\ncarer—see the Guardianship and Management of Property Act 1991,\nsection 6.\nlegal representative, of an entitled person who does not have legal\ncapacity, means the person’s parent or guardian.\n23E Voting at meetings\n(1) At an official visitors board meeting, each board member has a vote\non each question to be decided.\n(2) A question is to be decided by a majority of the votes of the official\nvisitors board members present and voting but, if the votes are equal,\nthe chair of the board has a deciding vote.\n\nMiscellaneous Part 6\nSection 23F\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 25\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n23F Minister may make guidelines\n(1) The Minister may—\n(a) after consulting the operational Minister for a visitable place,\nmake guidelines about—\n(i) visits by an official visitor for the place; and\n(ii) the inspection by an official visitor for the place of records\nrelating to entitled people at the place, including\nrequirements and guidance for compliance with\nsection 15 (2) (a) and (b) and (3); and\n(iii) the handling of complaints, and referral of complaints to\ninvestigative entities, by an official visitor for the place;\nand\n(iv) any other matter relating to the place or official visitor for\nthe place; and\n(b) make guidelines about any other matter.\n(2) A guideline is a disallowable instrument.\n24 Protection of officials from liability\n(1) An official is not civilly liable for anything done or omitted to be done\nhonestly and without recklessness—\n(a) in the exercise of a function under this Act; or\n(b) in the reasonable belief that the act or omission was in the\nexercise of a function under this Act.\n(2) Any civil liability that would, apart from subsection (1), attach to an\nofficial attaches instead to the Territory.\n\nPart 6 Miscellaneous\nSection 24A\npage 26 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(3) In this section:\nofficial means—\n(a) an official visitor; or\n(b) an official visitors board member; or\n(c) the official visitors executive officer; or\n(d) a person authorised under this Act to do or not to do a thing.\nNote A reference to an Act includes a reference to the statutory instruments\nmade or in force under the Act, including any regulation (see Legislation\nAct, s 104).\n24A Protection from liability\n(1) An entitled person at a visitable place, or anyone else, who takes any\nof the following actions honestly and without recklessness does not\nincur civil or criminal liability only because of taking the action:\n(a) making a complaint under section 22 to an official visitor;\n(b) making a statement, or giving a document or information,\nas required or allowed under a territory law, to an official visitor.\n(2) Also, taking an action mentioned in subsection (1) honestly and\nwithout recklessness is not a breach of—\n(a) confidence; or\n(b) professional etiquette or ethics; or\n(c) a rule of professional conduct.\n25 Offences—use or divulge protected information\n(1) A person to whom this section applies commits an offence if—\n(a) the person uses information; and\n(b) the information is protected information about someone else;\nand\n\nMiscellaneous Part 6\nSection 25\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 27\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(c) the person is reckless about whether the information is protected\ninformation about someone else.\nMaximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 6 months or\nboth.\n(2) A person to whom this section applies commits an offence if—\n(a) the person does something that divulges information; and\n(b) the information is protected information about someone else;\nand\n(c) the person is reckless about whether—\n(i) the information is protected information about someone\nelse; and\n(ii) doing the thing would result in the information being\ndivulged to someone else.\nMaximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 6 months or\nboth.\n(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply if the information is used or\ndivulged—\n(a) under this Act or another territory law; or\n(b) in relation to the exercise of a function, as a person to whom this\nsection applies, under this Act or another territory law; or\n(c) in a court proceeding.\n(4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to the using or divulging of\nprotected information about a person with the person’s consent.\nNote The defendant has an evidential burden in relation to the matters\nmentioned in ss (3) and (4) (see Criminal Code, s 58).\n\nPart 6 Miscellaneous\nSection 25A\npage 28 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(5) A person to whom this section applies need not divulge protected\ninformation to a court, or produce a document containing protected\ninformation to a court, unless it is necessary to do so for this Act or\nanother law applying in the territory.\n(6) In this section:\ncourt includes a tribunal, authority or person having power to require\nthe production of documents or the answering of questions.\ndivulge includes—\n(a) communicate; or\n(b) publish.\nperson to whom this section applies means—\n(a) a person who is or has been an official visitor; or\n(b) anyone else who has exercised a function under this Act.\nproduce includes allow access to.\nprotected information means information about a person that is\ndisclosed to, or obtained by, a person to whom this section applies\nbecause of the exercise of a function under this Act by the person or\nsomeone else.\nuse information includes make a record of the information.\n25A Information sharing between official visitors\n(1) An official visitor may give official visitor information to another\nofficial visitor (the receiving official visitor), and a receiving official\nvisitor may use the information, if the information is necessary for the\neffective exercise of a function under this Act.\n\nMiscellaneous Part 6\nSection 26\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 29\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(2) If a receiving official visitor uses official visitor information given to\nthem under subsection (1)—\n(a) a secrecy requirement is taken to apply to the receiving official\nvisitor in relation to the information; and\n(b) the receiving official visitor is taken to be a person engaged in\nthe administration of the law that contains the secrecy\nrequirement.\n(3) In this section:\nofficial visitor information means information disclosed to, or\nobtained by, an official visitor in the exercise of a function under\nthis Act.\nsecrecy requirement means a prohibition on the disclosure of\ninformation that applies to an official visitor in relation to official\nvisitor information, whether the prohibition is absolute or subject to\nstated exceptions or qualifications.\n26 Approved forms\n(1) The Minister may approve forms for this Act.\n(2) If the Minister approves a form for a particular purpose, the approved\nform must be used for that purpose.\n(3) An approved form is a notifiable instrument.\n27 Regulation-making power\nThe Executive may make regulations for this Act.\n\nDictionary\npage 30 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nDictionary\n(see s 3)\nNote 1 The Legislation Act contains definitions and other provisions relevant to\nthis Act.\nNote 2 For example, the Legislation Act, dict, pt 1 defines the following terms:\n• appoint\n• director-general (see s 163)\n• exercise\n• function\n• integrity commissioner\n• Minister (see s 162)\n• public advocate\n• public trustee and guardian.\nAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people\ncommissioner means the person appointed as the Aboriginal and\nTorres Strait Islander Children and Young People Commissioner\nunder the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young\nPeople Commissioner Act 2022, section 10.\nAboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child or young person means a\nchild or young person who is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander\nperson.\nAboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person—see the Aboriginal and\nTorres Strait Islander Children and Young People Commissioner\nAct 2022, dictionary.\nentitled person, at a visitable place—see section 8.\nhealth record—see the Health Records (Privacy and Access)\nAct 1997, dictionary.\nofficial visitor, for a visitable place—see section 6.\nofficial visitors board means the official visitors board established\nunder section 23A.\n\nDictionary\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 31\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nofficial visitors executive officer—see section 23C (2).\noperating entity, for a visitable place, means—\n(a) if the Territory operates the place—the relevant\ndirector-general; or\n(b) in any other case—the entity that operates the place.\noperational Act—see section 7.\noperational Minister, for a visitable place, means the Minister\nresponsible for the operational Act under which the visitable place is\nmentioned.\nrelevant director-general, for a visitable place, means the\ndirector-general of the administrative unit responsible for the\noperational Act under which the place is mentioned.\nsenior practitioner means the Senior Practitioner under the\nSenior Practitioner Act 2018.\nvisitable place—see section 9.\n\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\npage 32 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished law\nbut are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The details\nof these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced expiries are\nunderlined in the legislation history and amendment history.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\nLegislation history 3\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 33\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012 A2012-33\nnotified LR 15 June 2012\ns 1, s 2 commenced 15 June 2012 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 1 September 2013 (s 2 (as am by A2013-22\ns 4))\nas amended by\nOfficial Visitor Amendment Act 2013 A2013-22\nnotified LR 17 June 2013\ns 1, s 2 commenced 17 June 2013 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 1 September 2013 (s 2 and see A2012-33 s 2\nas am by this Act)\nMental Health Act 2015 A2015-38 sch 2 pt 2.4 div 2.4.12\nnotified LR 7 October 2015\ns 1, s 2 commenced 7 October 2015 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 2 pt 2.4 div 2.4.12 commenced 1 March 2016 (s 2 (1) and see\nMental Health (Treatment and Care) Amendment Act 2014 A2014-51,\ns 2 (as am by A2015-38 amdt 2.54))\nProtection of Rights (Services) Legislation Amendment Act 2016\n(No 2) A2016-13 sch 1 pt 1.29\nnotified LR 16 March 2016\ns 1, s 2 commenced 16 March 2016 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 1 pt 1.29 commenced 1 April 2016 (s 2 and see Protection of\nRights (Services) Legislation Amendment Act 2016 A2016-1 s 2)\nStatute Law Amendment Act 2017 (No 2) A2017-28 sch 3 pt 3.10\nnotified LR 27 September 2017\ns 1, s 2 commenced 27 September 2017 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 3 pt 3.10 commenced 11 October 2017 (s 2)\nIntegrity Commission Act 2018 A2018-52 sch 1 pt 1.18 (as am by\nA2019-18 s 4)\nnotified LR 11 December 2018\ns 1, s 2 commenced 11 December 2018 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 1 pt 1.18 commenced 1 December 2019 (s 2 (2) (a) as am by\nA2019-18 s 4)\n\nEndnotes\n3 Legislation history\npage 34 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nIntegrity Commission Amendment Act 2019 A2019-18\nnotified LR 14 June 2019\ns 1, s 2 commenced 14 June 2019 (LA s 75 (1))\ns 3, s 4 commenced 15 June 2019 (s 2 (1))\nNote This Act only amends the Integrity Commission Act 2018\nA2018-52.\nOfficial Visitor Amendment Act 2019 A2019-29\nnotified LR 2 October 2019\ns 1, s 2 commenced 2 October 2019\ns 7, s 9, s 10 (so far as it inserts s 15 (2)-(7)), s 16, s 19, ss 25-30,\nss 32-35, s 37 commenced 2 April 2020 (s 2 (1) and LA s 79)\nremainder commenced 3 October 2019 (s 2 (2))\nCOVID-19 Emergency Response Act 2020 A2020-11 sch 1 pt 1.15\nnotified LR 7 April 2020\ns 1, s 2 commenced 7 April 2020 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 1 pt 1.15 commenced 8 April 2020 (s 2 (1))\nAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People\nCommissioner Act 2022 A2022-25 sch 1 pt 1.5\nnotified LR 14 December 2022\ns 1, s 2 commenced 14 December 2022 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 1 pt 1.5 commenced 15 December 2022 (s 2)\nJustice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Act 2025\nA2025-2 pt 6\nnotified LR 20 February 2025\ns 1, s 2 commenced 20 February 2025 (LA s 75 (1))\npt 6 commenced 27 February 2025 (s 2 (1))\nStatute Law Amendment Act 2025 A2025-29 sch 4 pt 4.132\nnotified LR 6 November 2025\ns 1, s 2 commenced 6 November 2025 (LA s 75 (1))\nsch 4 pt 4.132 commenced 26 December 2025 (s 2 (7))\nJustice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Act 2026\nA2026-4 pt 12\nnotified LR 16 February 2026\ns 1, s 2 commenced 16 February 2026 (LA s 75 (1))\npt 12 commenced 23 February 2026 (s 2)\n\nEndnotes\nAmendment history 4\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 35\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n4 Amendment history\nCommencement\ns 2 sub A2013-22 s 4\nom LA s 89 (4)\nWho is an official visitor?\ns 6 sub A2019-29 s 4\nWhat is an operational Act?\ns 7 am A2015-38 amdt 2.81\nWho is an entitled person?\ns 8 sub A2019-29 s 5\nWhat is a visitable place?\ns 9 sub A2019-29 s 5\nAuthorisation to visit places\ns 9A ins A2019-29 s 5\nAppointment\ns 10 am A2015-38 amdt 2.81\nsub A2019-29 s 6\nam A2026-4 s 38, s 39\nEnding appointment\ns 12 am A2013-22 s 5, s 24; A2019-29 s 7, s 8; A2026-4 s 40\nHandover of records by official visitors\ns 13 am A2019-29 s 9\nOfficial visitor functions\ns 14 am A2013-22 s 24\nsub A2019-29 s 10\nIndependence of official visitors\ns 14A ins A2019-29 s 10\nConflict of interest\ns 14B ins A2026-4 s 41\nOfficial visitor may enter visitable place etc\ns 15 hdg sub A2013-22 s 6; A2019-29 s 10\ns 15 am A2013-22 s 7; ss renum R1 LA\nsub A2019-29 s 10\nOfficial visitor must report non-compliant visitable places\ns 16 am A2013-22 s 8; A2019-29 ss 11-13; A2022-25 amdt 1.79;\npars renum R12 LA\n\nEndnotes\n4 Amendment history\npage 36 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nReporting of complaints\ns 17 am A2013-22 s 9; A2017-28 amdt 3.30; A2019-29 s 14, s 15;\nA2018-52 amdt 1.96\nsub A2019-29 s 16\nam A2022-25 amdt 1.80, amdt 1.81; pars renum R12 LA\nAssistance to official visitors\ns 18 am A2013-22 s 10, s 11; A2019-29 s 17, s 18; A2019-29 s 19;\nss renum R9 LA\nOffences—failure to provide assistance etc\ns 19 am A2013-22 s 12; A2025-29 amdt 4.133\nVisits and complaints\npt 5 hdg sub A2013-22 s 13\nOperating entity must let entitled people know about official visitors\ns 20 am A2019-29 s 20\nRequests to meet official visitor\ns 21 am A2013-22 s 14; A2019-29 s 21, s 22\nComplaints to official visitors\ns 22 am A2019-29 s 23, s 24\nVisit and complaint guidelines\ns 23 hdg sub A2013-22 s 15\ns 23 am A2013-22 s 16, s 24\nom A2019-29 s 25\nOfficial visitors board\npt 5A hdg ins A2013-22 s 17\nEstablishment of official visitors board\ns 23A ins A2013-22 s 17\nMembership of official visitors board\ns 23B ins A2013-22 s 17\nam A2016-13 amdts 1.98-1.100; pars renum R4 LA; A2017-28\namdt 3.31; A2019-29 s 26, s 27; A2025-29 amdt 4.133\nOfficial visitors board functions\ns 23C ins A2013-22 s 17\nsub A2019-29 s 28\nOfficial visitors board procedure\ns 23D ins A2013-22 s 17\nam A2016-13 amdt 1.101; A2019-29 s 29\n\nEndnotes\nAmendment history 4\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 37\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nBoard annual report\ns 23DA ins A2019-29 s 30\nam A2020-11 amdt 1.61\n(3A), (3B) exp 8 October 2020 (s 23DA (3B))\nam A2022-25 amdt 1.82\nRegister of visitable places\ns 23DB ins A2019-29 s 31\nam A2019-29 s 32; pars renum R9 LA; A2022-25 amdt 1.83;\npars renum R12 LA\nVoting at meetings\ns 23E ins A2016-13 amdt 1.102; A2019-29 s 33\nMinister may make guidelines\ns 23F ins A2019-29 s 34\nam A2025-29 amdt 4.133\nProtection of officials from liability\ns 24 am A2013-22 s 18; pars renum R1 LA; A2019-29 s 35;\npars renum R9 LA\nProtection from liability\ns 24A ins A2025-2 s 40\nOffences—use or divulge protected information\ns 25 am A2013-22 s 19\nInformation sharing between official visitors\ns 25A ins A2025-2 s 41\nApproved forms\ns 26 am A2017-28 amdt 3.32; A2025-29 amdt 4.133\nRegulation-making power\ns 27 am A2025-29 amdt 4.133\nLegislation amended—sch 1\ns 28 om LA s 89 (3)\nTransitional\npt 10 hdg exp 1 September 2015 (s 54)\nDefinitions—pt 10\ns 50 exp 1 September 2015 (s 54)\ndef commencement day exp 1 September 2015 (s 54)\ndef operational Act exp 1 September 2015 (s 54)\nUnfinished complaints to official visitors\ns 51 exp 1 September 2015 (s 54)\nExisting appointments\ns 52 exp 1 September 2015 (s 54)\n\nEndnotes\n4 Amendment history\npage 38 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nTransitional regulations\ns 53 exp 1 September 2015 (s 54)\nExpiry—pt 10\ns 54 exp 1 September 2015 (s 54)\nTransitional—Mental Health Act 2015\npt 11 hdg ins A2015-38 amdt 2.82\nexp 1 September 2016 (s 62)\nDefinitions—pt 11\ns 60 ins A2015-38 amdt 2.82\nexp 1 September 2016 (s 62)\ndef commencement day ins A2015-38 amdt 2.82\nexp 1 September 2016 (s 62)\ndef repealed Act ins A2015-38 amdt 2.82\nexp 1 September 2016 (s 62)\nContinued appointment\ns 61 ins A2015-38 amdt 2.82\nexp 1 September 2016 (s 62)\nExpiry—pt 11\ns 62 ins A2015-38 amdt 2.82\nexp 1 September 2016 (s 62)\nValidation\npt 12 hdg ins A2026-4 s 42\nexp 23 February 2026 (s 64)\nValidation of appointment of official visitor\ns 63 ins A2026-4 s 42\nexp 23 February 2026 (s 64)\nExpiry—pt 12\ns 64 ins A2026-4 s 42\nexp 23 February 2026 (s 64)\nConsequential amendments\nsch 1 hdg om LA s 89 (3)\nChildren and Young People Act 2008\nsch 1 pt 1.1 om LA s 89 (3)\nCorrections Management Act 2007\nsch 1 pt 1.2 om LA s 89 (3)\nDisability Services Act 1991\nsch 1 pt 1.3 om LA s 89 (3)\nNew section 9A\nsch 1 amdt 1.27 om A2013-22 s 20\n\nEndnotes\nAmendment history 4\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 39\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nNew section 11\nsch 1 amdt 1.28 om A2013-22 s 20\nHousing Assistance Act 2007\nsch 1 pt 1.4 om LA s 89 (3)\nLegislation Act 2001\nsch 1 pt 1.5 om LA s 89 (3)\nMental Health (Treatment and Care) Act 1994\nsch 1 pt 1.6 om LA s 89 (3)\nTerritory Records Regulation 2009\nsch 1 pt 1.7 om LA s 89 (3)\nDictionary\ndict am A2013-22 s 21; A2016-13 amdt 1.103; A2018-52\namdt 1.97\ndef Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and\nyoung people commissioner ins A2022-25 amdt 1.84\ndef Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child or young\nperson ins A2022-25 amdt 1.84\ndef Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person ins\nA2022-25 amdt 1.84\ndef entitled person sub A2019-29 s 36\ndef health record ins A2013-22 s 22\ndef investigative entity am A2016-13 amdt 1.104\nom A2017-28 amdt 3.33\ndef official visitor sub A2019-29 s 36\ndef official visitors board ins A2013-22 s 22\ndef official visitors executive officer ins A2019-29 s 37\ndef operating entity am A2013-22 s 23\ndef operational Minister sub A2019-29 s 38\ndef relevant director-general sub A2019-29 s 38\ndef senior practitioner ins A2019-29 s 39\ndef visitable place sub A2019-29 s 40\n\nEndnotes\n5 Earlier republications\npage 40 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n5 Earlier republications\nSome earlier republications were not numbered. The number in column 1 refers to\nthe publication order.\nSince 12 September 2001 every authorised republication has been published in\nelectronic pdf format on the ACT legislation register. A selection of authorised\nrepublications have also been published in printed format. These republications are\nmarked with an asterisk (*) in column 1. Electronic and printed versions of an\nauthorised republication are identical.\nRepublication\nNo and date\nEffective Last\namendment\nmade by\nRepublication\nfor\nR1\n1 Sept 2013\n1 Sept 2013–\n1 Sept 2015\nA2013-22 new Act and\namendments by\nA2013-22\nR2\n2 Sept 2016\n2 Sept 2015–\n29 Feb 2016\nA2013-22 expiry of\ntransitional\nprovisions (pt 10)\nR3\n1 Mar 2016\n1 Mar 2016–\n31 Mar 2016\nA2015-38 amendments by\nA2015-38\nR4\n1 Apr 2016\n1 Apr 2016–\n1 Sep 2016\nA2016-13 amendments by\nA2016-13\nR5\n2 Sept 2016\n2 Sept 2016–\n10 Oct 2017\nA2016-13 expiry of\ntransitional\nprovisions (pt 11)\nR6\n11 Oct 2017\n11 Oct 2017–\n2 Oct 2019\nA2017-28 amendments by\nA2017-28\nR7\n3 Oct 2019\n3 Oct 2019–\n30 Nov 2019\nA2019-29 amendments by\nA2019-29\nR8\n1 Dec 2019\n1 Dec 2019–\n1 Apr 2020\nA2019-29 amendments by\nA2018-52 as\namended by\nA2019-18\nR9\n2 Apr 2020\n2 Apr 2020–\n7 Apr 2020\nA2019-29 amendments by\nA2019-29\nR10\n8 Apr 2020\n8 Apr 2020–\n8 Oct 2020\nA2020-11 amendments by\nA2020-11\n\nEndnotes\nEarlier republications 5\nR16\n24/02/26\nOfficial Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\npage 41\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nRepublication\nNo and date\nEffective Last\namendment\nmade by\nRepublication\nfor\nR11\n9 Oct 2020\n9 Oct 2020–\n14 Dec 2022\nA2020-11 expiry of provisions\n(s 23DA (3A), (3B))\nR12\n15 Dec 2022\n15 Dec 2022–\n26 Feb 2025\nA2022-25 amendments by\nA2022-25\nR13\n27 Feb 2025\n27 Feb 2025–\n25 Dec 2025\nA2025-2 amendments by\nA2025-2\nR14\n26 Dec 2025\n26 Dec 2025–\n22 Feb 2026\nA2025-29 amendments by\nA2025-29\nR15\n23 Feb 2026\n23 Feb 2026–\n23 Feb 2026\nA2026-4 amendments by\nA2026-4\n\nEndnotes\n6 Expired transitional or validating provisions\npage 42 Official Visitor Act 2012\nEffective: 24/02/26\nR16\n24/02/26\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n6 Expired transitional or validating provisions\nThis Act may be affected by transitional or validating provisions that have expired.\nThe expiry does not affect any continuing operation of the provisions\n(see Legislation Act 2001, s 88 (1)).\nExpired provisions are removed from the republished law when the expiry takes\neffect and are listed in the amendment history using the abbreviation ‘exp’ followed\nby the date of the expiry.\nTo find the expired provisions see the version of this Act before the expiry took\neffect. The ACT legislation register has point-in-time versions of this Act.\n© Australian Capital Territory 2026","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act’s scope has broadened since its original, narrow purpose of providing a statutory visitor mechanism for certain institutions. Subsequent statutory additions expand both structure and function: a statutory Official Visitors Board with oversight and training duties (s 23A–23C); a mandatory register of visitable places (s 23DB); strengthened reporting, referral and information‑sharing arrangements (s 16–17, s 25A); explicit civil‑liability protections for officials and information‑use offences (s 24, s 25); and new conflict‑of‑interest rules (s 14B). The Act now embeds a full oversight ecosystem (recruitment, training, reporting, register and offence framework) rather than only providing ad hoc visitation powers. These additions shift more administrative and compliance responsibilities onto operating entities and create new governance and resource obligations for the Territory and the Board."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple external operational Acts (Children and Young People Act 2008; Corrections Management Act 2007; Disability Services Act 1991; Housing Assistance Act 2007; Mental Health Act 2015) (see s 7, s 9).","Conditional and layered access rules for inspecting records (s 15(2)(a)–(b) with subconditions and an explicit exclusion for sensitive child information s 15(6)).","Quarterly and annual reporting regimes with multiple recipients and redaction rules (s 17, s 23DA).","Established oversight body with mixed composition (statutory office holders, elected official visitors, ministerial appointees), delegated powers and procedural rules (s 23A–23D).","Secrecy/confidentiality regime with criminal offences and multiple statutory exceptions (s 25(1)–(6)); plus controlled internal information‑sharing (s 25A).","Multiple enforcement paths and penalties, including administrative (ending appointments s 12), civil‑liability shifting to the Territory (s 24(2)) and criminal penalties for obstruction or disclosure (s 19, s 25).","Ministerial discretion to appoint, make guidelines (s 10, s 23F) and to determine board membership (s 23B) — introduces administrative contingency and variability.","Register requirements and information‑release rules that involve director‑generals, operating entities and emergency services (s 23DB(1)–(4)).","Dictionary and signpost definitions (about 15 specialised terms plus references to other Acts), which create dependency on external statutory definitions (Dictionary and s 3).","History of iterative amendments adding Parts (board, register, information‑sharing, conflict‑of‑interest rules) — increases interpretative layers and cross-referencing (see endnotes and amendment history)."],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does, simply put**\n\n- Creates and governs a network of \"official visitors\" with statutory power to inspect and investigate certain institutional places where people receive government-supervised services or are detained. These places are defined by the operative Acts listed in section 7 (children and young people, corrections, disability services, housing assistance and mental health) and are called \"visitable places\" (see s 7, s 9).\n\n- Specifies who may be appointed as an official visitor, how they are appointed and removed, their minimum numbers for different kinds of visitable places, and basic conditions of appointment (see s 10–12).\n\n- Sets out the official visitors’ core functions: to visit places, meet \"entitled people\" (people who have statutory rights at those places), monitor conditions, investigate and seek to resolve complaints, identify systemic problems, refer matters to investigative bodies, and report to Ministers and others (see s 14, s 16–17).\n\n- Gives official visitors powers to enter visitable places and, in limited circumstances, to inspect records about entitled people (including health records) subject to consent rules and privacy limits (see s 15(2)–(6)).\n\n- Requires operating entities (the bodies that run visitable places) to tell entitled people about official visitors, to pass on requests to meet an official visitor promptly, to give reasonable assistance, and to keep a record of official visitor visits (see s 20–21, s 18–19).\n\n- Establishes an Official Visitors Board to oversee and support official visitors, arrange recruitment and training, consider complaints about visitors, and provide annual reporting to the Minister (see s 23A–23DA). The Minister also has power to issue guidance (s 23F).\n\n- Creates a register of visitable places that relevant director‑generals must maintain and make available to officials on request (see s 23DB).\n\n- Provides legal protections and limits: officials acting honestly and without recklessness are protected from civil liability (s 24–24A); at the same time there are criminal penalties for obstructing visitors or recklessly using or divulging \"protected information\" (s 19, s 25). The Act also allows controlled information‑sharing between official visitors where necessary for functions (s 25A).\n\n**Who this affects**\n\n- Entitled people at visitable places (for example residents, detainees or clients covered by the listed operational Acts) — they get a statutory channel to be visited and to make complaints directly to an official visitor (s 20–22).\n\n- Operating entities (government director‑generals or other organisations that run the places) — they must notify entitled people about visitors, provide reasonable assistance and access, maintain visit records and comply with penalties for obstructing visitors (s 18–19, s 20, s 23DB).\n\n- The Minister (appoints visitors and issues guidelines) and operational Ministers (consulted on appointments and recipients of reports) — they decide appointments, set guidelines and receive statutory reports (s 10(2), s 23F, s 17–16).\n\n- Official visitors and the Official Visitors Board — they receive powers, duties, reporting obligations and protections (s 14, s 23C, s 24).\n\n**Why it matters (mechanics and trade-offs)**\n\n- Access and accountability mechanism: the Act creates an institutional route for monitoring and addressing problems in places that provide supervised care or detention (s 14, s 16–17). That concentrates investigative power in named individuals rather than leaving oversight entirely to line agencies.\n\n- Privacy vs. investigatory access: the Act balances record access for visitors against privacy safeguards. Visitors may inspect records with consent or if certain strict conditions are met (s 15(2)(a)–(b) and (3)); sensitive child information is explicitly excluded from some powers (s 15(6)). At the same time, there are criminal penalties for reckless use or disclosure of \"protected information\" (s 25).\n\n- Administrative and compliance costs fall mainly on operating entities. They must provide assistance, keep visit logs, respond to meeting requests within 24 hours, and co‑operate with inspections (s 18–21, s 19). Those are recurring staff time costs and record‑keeping burdens that will vary by setting and scale.\n\n- Decision and oversight points are concentrated in the executive: the Minister appoints visitors, chairs and additional board members are ministerial appointments, and the Minister may make disallowable guidelines (s 10, s 23B, s 23F). That creates administrative discretion over who serves, how standards are articulated and how the scheme is resourced.\n\n- Enforcement incentives and penalties are asymmetric. Officials get statutory protection from civil liability when acting honestly (s 24); operating entities face penalties (including up to imprisonment in extreme obstruction cases) for hindering visitors (s 19). The practical effect is to lower the legal risk for visitors while increasing compliance pressure on operators.\n\n- Concentrated benefits, diffuse costs: the benefits of closer scrutiny and complaint resolution accrue to entitled people and—less directly—to visitors, advocacy bodies and investigative entities. The costs (staff time, record‑keeping, potential reputational risk from reports) are borne by the operating entities and ultimately by government budgets where the Territory operates places.\n\n**Implementation risks and likely behavioural changes**\n\n- Operating entities are likely to tighten access procedures and records governance to manage privacy risk and to avoid penalties; they may allocate staff time to process visitor requests, maintain the register and log visits (s 23DB, s 19).\n\n- Official visitors will need induction, training and administrative support (a role the Board is required to provide — s 23C), and the Board’s capacity will affect how consistently visits and reporting are carried out.\n\n- There is some substitution risk: operators might funnel more complaints through internal complaint systems rather than letting people access visitors, or conversely escalate matters earlier to investigative entities because visitors can refer matters (s 14(1)(e)).\n\n- Implementation depends on clear guidelines and adequate resourcing: ministerial guidelines (s 23F) and the Board’s operation (s 23C, s 23DA) will determine how closely the scheme approaches its stated objectives.\n\n**Key statutory references**: appointment and numbers (s 10–11), functions and independence (s 14, s 14A), entry and records (s 15), reporting (s 16–17), assistance and offences (s 18–19), entitled person rights (s 20–22), board and register (s 23A–23DB), liability and confidentiality (s 24–25A)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The legislation has expanded significantly beyond its original 2012 scope. Originally focused on a basic visitor scheme, amendments in 2013, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2025 and 2026 have added: (1) a statutory Official Visitors Board with governance functions; (2) detailed record inspection powers with consent frameworks; (3) mandatory quarterly reporting requirements; (4) information sharing protocols between visitors; (5) protections for complainants; (6) a register of visitable places; and (7) validation provisions for appointments. The 2019 amendments in particular transformed the scheme from a simple visitation system into a comprehensive oversight framework with systemic issue identification and referral powers to investigative entities."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple cross-referenced definitions: 'entitled person', 'visitable place', and 'operational Act' are defined by reference to 5 separate Acts (Children and Young People Act, Corrections Management Act, Disability Services Act, Housing Assistance Act, Mental Health Act), requiring readers to consult external legislation","Conditional consent framework for record inspection: Section 15(2) contains nested conditions for accessing records without written consent, requiring assessment of capacity, reasonable belief, and necessity","Dual reporting streams: Section 17 requires both full and summary quarterly reports with different distribution lists and content restrictions (e.g., prohibition on identifying entitled persons in reports to Minister)","Overlapping secrecy and information-sharing provisions: Sections 25 (protected information offences) and 25A (information sharing between visitors) create a complex matrix of prohibitions and permitted disclosures","Board governance structure: Part 5A establishes a statutory board with mixed membership (ex officio, elected, and appointed) and delegation powers under section 23C(3)","Multiple penalty provisions with varying maxima: Offences range from 5 penalty units (record keeping) to 50 penalty units and/or 6 months imprisonment (obstruction or unauthorised disclosure)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act establishes independent \"official visitors\" who inspect places where vulnerable people live or are detained and handle their complaints. It affects residents and detainees in visitable facilities, the organisations that run them, and the appointed visitors who have powers to access premises, records, and confidential interviews.\n\nBy creating an external, legal avenue for complaints and oversight, the scheme protects vulnerable people, exposes systemic problems, and compels government and operators to answer and act."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/official-visitor-act-2012","history":"/api/acts/official-visitor-act-2012/history","analysis":"/api/acts/official-visitor-act-2012/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/official-visitor-act-2012/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/official-visitor-act-2012/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/official-visitor-act-2012/documents"}}