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The RACGP Standards for health services in Australian immigration detention centres

I am pleased to introduce The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for health services in Australian immigration detention centres.

Appropriate health care is a basic human right in any civil society, and the RACGP has long advocated that all people living in Australia should have access to high quality general practice and primary health care.

For more than 10 years, the RACGP has been working with consumers, members of our profession and a wide range of stakeholders to articulate standards for the settings in which we work. Two recent instances of the unlawful detention of Australian citizens within immigration detention centres and a report from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission have highlighted concerns about the provision of health care to people detained in these facilities. The recommendations from the Commonwealth Inquiry into the circumstances of the immigration detention of Cornelia Rau (‘the Palmer report’) and Inquiry into the circumstances of the Vivian Alvarez matter (‘the Comrie report’) provide valuable guidance in ensuring the quality and safety of primary health care for people detained in immigration detention centres.

Initially the RACGP proposed that its Standards for general practices (3rd edition) were applicable to immigration detention centres, and that the general practice profession could assist in ensuring that the standards of health care in these facilities meet the expectations of the Australian community. In 2006, when the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) sought the RACGP’s assistance to work with health professionals, their employers and the DIAC to develop standards for use in health services in immigration detention centres, the RACGP was pleased to have the opportunity to assist.

The RACGP supports the reforms within the DIAC in response to the Palmer and Comrie reports. After consultation, customisation of the RACGP’s Standards for general practices (3rd edition) and pilot testing, the RACGP Standards for health services in Australian immigration detention centres have been finalised. These Standards mirror the quality and safety principles in the Standards for general practices (3rd edition).

As recently elected president of the RACGP, and a migrant to Australia, I commend these RACGP Standards to the people who care for patients in Australian immigration detention centres. I particularly want to acknowledge the commitment and advocacy of Dr Leanne Rowe and her peers in our college, including members of the National Expert Committee on Standards for General Practices and their colleagues on the DIAC Detention Health Advisory Group, and to pay tribute to their contribution to our shared professional ideals.

Dr Vasantha Preetham
President
April 2007

The RACGP Standards for health services in Australian immigration detention centres are available for $25.00 per copy. To order a copy, contact the GP Advocacy & Support department on 03 8699 0524 or standards@racgp.org.au.

Publication Date: 20 June 2007
Authorised By: GP Advocacy and Support