Acting Children’s Commissioner Nicole Hucks says youth detention conditions have ’not substantially improved’

The Northern Territory’s Acting Children’s Commissioner has weighed in on the state of youth detention in the Territory, five years on from the royal commission. Read what she has to say.

NT Acting Children’s Commissioner Nicole Hucks said she was “optimistic” when the recommendations for the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory were handed down.

“The royal commission clearly highlighted the suffering and lasting psychological damage and impact that the systems at that time were causing Territory children,” the Larrakia woman and first Aboriginal person to hold the top job said.

“I was quite hopeful that there was going to be some traction on key system reforms the recommendations were calling for.”

But five years on from the royal commission, Ms Hucks said the “treatment of children held in Territory Detention Centres has not substantially improved” and many of the recommendations labelled as complete by the government was misleading.

In 2016 during the royal commission, her office received 44 complaints from those detained or working inside Territory detention centres but in 2020/21 there were 441.

“A lot of those complaints are in relation to general operations of youth detention, so the provision of services and programs (and) access to education,” she said.

“But there has also been a number of complaints in relation to allegations of use of force and excessive use of force on children and young people.”

A sample study of the 441 complaints showed 31 per cent were for physical force, while a further 29 per cent were for allegations of verbal abuse by a Youth Justice Officer.

Ms Hucks said the 200 per cent increase in the number of children entering detention was contributing to a “deterioration” in conditions.

In 2018, the Territory Labor government made significant reforms to the Youth Justice Act, particularly in relation to restraint methods, including using gas and physical force.

There was also a move to “favour bail” but in May 2020 the Gunner government reverted to a punitive style that made it more difficult for young people to be given bail.

In June, Ms Hucks also raised concerns about young people being left inside cells for up to 72 hours after self harming.

She wrote to Chief Minister Natasha Fyles and Territory Families chief executive Ken Davies with “grave concerns” for the wellbeing of children.

At the time she accused the government of potentially breaching the Youth Justice Act.

“The Youth Justice Act (2005) states a ‘youth should only be kept in custody for an offence (whether on arrest, in remand or under sentence) as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time,” Ms Hucks wrote.

On Thursday, Territory Families Minister Kate Worden said she was only aware of one significant incident where excessive force was used by YJOs in the past year.

“Over the last couple of years I’ve been aware of one matter which was brought to my attention appropriately and I was satisfied that person was dealt with appropriately,” Ms Worden said.

“But often these are matters, as in any workplace dealt with through HR process and a disciplinary process within the organisation … some of them are very operational, and depending on the breach.”

The NT News understands several incidents are under investigation.

Originally published as Acting Children’s Commissioner Nicole Hucks says youth detention conditions have ’not substantially improved’