Steven Caruana is the Detention Monitoring and Torture Prevention Treaty (OPCAT) Coordinator (ACT NPM Coordinator) with the Commonwealth Ombudsman. In this position he promotes collaboration, cooperation and consistency between the three bodies that make up the ACT National Preventive Mechanism (ACT Ombudsman, ACT Human Rights Commission and the ACT Inspector of Custodial Services).
Steven has monitoring and policy experience across several sectors including mental health, corrections, disability, aged care, police custody and immigration detention. He has previously worked as a Specialist Advisor to the Australian Human Rights Commission where he led the Commission’s inspection of immigration detention function. Steven has also worked for the Disability Royal Commission, Western Australian Inspector of Custodial Services, Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and NSW Official Visitors for Mental Health.
Steven holds additional positions as Co-Editor of the ICPA’s External Prison Oversight and Human Rights Network newsletter, Advisory Board member for Deadly Connections Community and Justice Services and Editorial Board member for the Sydney Institute of Criminology’s journal, Current Issues in Criminal Justice.
Steven completed a Churchill Fellowship on OPCAT implementation in 2018 and a Policy Impact Program Fellowship on the same in 2021.
