ABSTRACT
This chapter examines human rights standards in the prison context. It presents an overview of the international framework governing the treatment of prisoners 1 and discusses the extent to which this has been adopted in Australia, as well as considering the relevant Australian guidelines. Australia has a federal government structure and management, with the management of prisoners in Australia governed by the laws of its six states and two territories. The key focus of the chapter is the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which opened Australia’s first ‘human rights’ prison, the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC), in 2009.
