Queensland Government
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services
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Youth justice services

Youth Justice Services are responsible for supervising young people involved in the Youth Justice system. Youth Justice staff work with young people and their family to address the factors that contribute to their offending behaviour and encourage young people to build positive connections with their community.

In addition to assisting young people to meet the statutory requirements of their court order, Youth Justice Services engage young people in a range of programs to address the diverse risks and needs present in their lives. The interventions provided to young people involved in the Youth Justice system are across four categories including:

  • Court Orders and Bail Support
  • Support Services
  • Offence Focussed Intervention
  • Developmental Intervention.

Individual youth Justice Service Centres run many programs aimed at preventing young people from reoffending. These include programs to help young people build connections with their communities, learn about the consequences of their offending and increase their skills and confidence.

Services are delivered through 16 Youth Justice Service Centres across the state. The purpose-built centres are an outcome of the Government's blueprint for implementation of the Crime and Misconduct Commission's recommendations, "Protecting Children: An Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Foster Care".

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The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service took part in a young arson offenders program developed by the Caboolture Youth Justice Service...

Youth Detention Centres

Queensland has two Youth Detention Centres:

  • The Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, located at Wacol, accommodates females from across the state, and males from south of Rockhampton
  • The Cleveland Youth Detention Centre, located in Townsville, accommodates young males from north of Rockhampton.

Professional staff members from the Department of Communities provide care, counselling, and activities that are sensitive to the gender, cultural beliefs, and health needs of young people in detention, while assisting their successful reintegration into the community. Staff are specially trained to work with adolescents and assist young people in detention to achieve normal adolescent milestones, including developing independence and preparing for employment.

The centres' daily routines ensure that young people are engaged in constructive programs that include cultural, educational, pre-vocational, vocational, and recreational programs.

Queensland's Youth Detention Centres are committed to providing a safe environment for young people, employees, and visitors and welcome family and approved friends to visit young people in detention. The centres recognise the important part visitors play in the reintegration of young people back into the community upon release from detention.

Evaluation of Youth Detention Services

In 2001, an evaluation of the Secure Care Framework was undertaken.

Phase one of the evaluation process tested the strengths and shortcomings of the framework's administrative and organisational systems and assessed the degree to which they effectively supported the Secure Care Framework. Phase two examined the affect that the Secure Care Framework had upon the delivery of services within the Youth Detention Centres.

Youth Detention Centre Inspections

The Youth Detention Inspection Team conducts quarterly inspections and monitoring of Queensland's Youth Detention Centres in accordance with the Youth Justice Act 1992 (PDF). The inspection function became legislated following the Queensland Government's commitment to recommendation 17 of the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions (the Forde inquiry), which found that incidents of abuse had occurred in church and state-run facilities such as Youth Detention Centres.

The Youth Detention Inspectorate undertakes on-site inspections of each Juvenile Detention Centre every three months, based on the Expectations document (PDF, 485 KB) Expectations document (RTF, 1.7 MB). The Expectations Document are based on Her Majesty's Prison Inspectorate England and Wales, however has been amended to reflect Queensland legislation and government approved recommendations of Australian commissions of inquiry such as the Commission of Inquiry Into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions (Forde Inquiry) and the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC). As well as international conventions which establish human rights standards of which Australia is a signatory to. There are also various international laws to which Australia is a signatory and which relate to the Expectations in relation to the rights and protection of children who have been deprived of their liberty.

Inspections are conducted in accordance with the approved Queensland Youth Detention Centre Inspection Framework (PDF, 174 KB) Queensland Youth Detention Centre Inspection Framework (RTF, 91 KB) and Queensland Youth Detention Centre Inspection Charter (PDF, 63 KB) Queensland Youth Detention Centre Inspection Charter (RTF, 92 KB).

Inspection reports are submitted to the Director-General, and contain independent assessments of the four major areas of chief executive responsibility: the security and management of detention centres, and the safety, custody and wellbeing of young people detained within.

Inspection reports include recommendations based on robust findings and good practice in other jurisdictions. While advisory in nature, recommendations are intended to promote continuous improvement within the organisation, drive future-oriented strategies to mitigate risk, and enhance staff professionalism.

Through its focus on the safe custody and wellbeing of vulnerable children and young people in departmental care, the inspection team adds value to existing management processes and oversight mechanisms designed to improve the accountability, integrity and performance of detention centres, and serves as a continual reminder of the intent of the Forde inquiry and the principles of the Youth Justice Act 1992 (PDF).

Youth Detention Centres Quarterly Reports