Background of the APCCA

The first meeting of the Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA) was held in Hong Kong in 1980. The idea of that meeting developed from discussions between the then Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology and the then Commissioner of the Hong Kong Prison Service. Since 1980 the conference has been held each year, apart from 1990. For most of that period, the conference was assisted by the Australian Institute of Criminology but since 1993 the conference has been supported by the APCCA Coordinator working in a private capacity.

After the first meeting of the conference in Hong Kong, in subsequent years the conference met in Bangkok, Tokyo, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Australia (New South Wales and Victoria), India, China (Beijing), Australia (South Australia), Hong Kong, Australia (Northern Territory), Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia, Canada and China (Shanghai). Over this period the conference has developed a significant history of traditions and conventional practices, even though it has no formal constitution or rules of procedure. For example, it has always been accepted that the host has the right to select those to be invited. Furthermore, the conference is relatively inexpensive as all of the participants pay their own air fares and accommodation.

As a matter of tradition, however, the host nation provides some hospitality as well as an appropriate venue for the formal meetings.