Advocates call for national ban on spit hoods after NSW becomes second state to outlaw their use

Protestors wearing spit hoods. NSW has become the second state to ban their use after South Australia did so in 2021. Photograph: Walter Marsh/Supplied

Advocates are calling for a nationwide ban on spit hoods – which have been linked to deaths in custody – after New South Wales became the second state to outlaw the use of the restraint devices.

The Ban Spit Hoods Coalition, which works to end the use of the fabric device which is placed over people’s heads in custodial settings, said spit hoods were an unacceptable threat to human life and dignity and that all states and territories should follow the lead of NSW and South Australia, with the latter state the first to ban its use in 2021.