Official visitors are appointed members of the community who visit Northern Territory (NT) prisons. Their role is to provide independent assessments of the treatment and conditions of prisoners.
They are appointed by the minister responsible for correctional services and are independent from NT correctional centres and work camps.
The minister must appoint at least 3 official visitors for each custodial correctional facility.
They are appointed for a 3-year term to:
Each correctional facility must be visited by an official visitor at least once a month.
Official visitors do all of the following:
Official visitors can't investigate or advocate on behalf of individual prisoners under section 31 of the Act.
They must not interfere with or instruct on how prisoners are controlled or managed.
If you're interested in becoming an official visitor, email officialvisitorsprogram.ntdcs@nt.gov.au.