Housing young offenders in motels and caravan parks needs to end, advocates say

The NSW government needs to invest in bail accommodation for underage offenders, welfare advocates say, following revelations that children released from custody are being housed in motels and caravan parks.

The final report on Alternative Care Arrangements (ACAs) by the Advocate for Children and Young People, released last Monday, found these placements increased the risk of children absconding, breaching their bail conditions, and returning to jail.

The children’s advocate has called for an immediate end to children and young people being placed in hotels. Credit: iStock

Children told the inquiry they had been housed in cockroach-infested hotels occupied by drug-affected adults, confined to their rooms 24 hours a day and sexually assaulted by care workers.

The children were being housed in ACAs that included hotels, motels, caravan parks and short-term rental accommodation.

The children’s advocate, Zoe Robinson, called for an immediate end to the use of ACAs.

“Children and young people do not ask for much in circumstances where they could legitimately ask much more of the system that is designed to care for them. But they do seek safety, stability, and love,” she said.

At the end of March, 76 children were in ACAs, down from 118 in June 2023. The placements cost upward of $2 million a year per child.

The report found ACAs had poor and dirty facilities, such as rusted kitchens, mouldy showers, dirty toilets and pest infestations.

ACAs are supposed to be a last resort. However, most kids spent more than three months in them, with some staying for more than 600 days, the report found. Two-thirds of the children placed in an ACA were suitable for foster care.

In April, a Children’s Court magistrate found that a six-year-old child spent five months in a serviced apartment building with over 100 rostered carers during that period.

A 12-year-old who had lived in hotels for two years told the inquiry he started calling one carer “mum”, while another 12-year-old who spent 500 days in ACAs said he felt like a dog being moved “from cage to cage”.

The inquiry also found horrific cases of sexual assault, with Legal Aid NSW reporting a 17-year-old Aboriginal woman was sexually assaulted after an inexperienced carer encouraged her to meet a man she had been talking to on Snapchat.

Another girl said she was sexually assaulted when she was 12 years old by a hotel guest.

A major issue outlined in the report was hiring fee-for-service staff, including subcontracted workers from non-accredited agencies or labour-hire companies, whose only working requirements are a NSW Working with Children’s Check and a Nationwide Criminal Record Check.

One 14-year-old testified he could go missing for weeks before staff members reported his absence.

The staff rotation caused major stress in children, with Legal Aid NSW noting that children were anxious that staff on the next shift wouldn’t know to pick them up from school.

Some children said they weren’t given the option to attend school after being placed in care hours away from their communities.

The advocate also called for extra funding to recruit, retain and train quality foster carers; investment in an independent complaints and oversight mechanism; and practises for record-keeping and data sharing.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children account for over half of children in ACAs. Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT chief executive Karly Warner said this was a vast over-representation and agreed bail reform was needed.

“Many Aboriginal families are devastated their children are forced into hotels and caravan parks rather than growing up connected to family, culture and community,” she said.

“The NSW government needs to invest in alternative options, including supported bail accommodation.”

Families and Communities Minister Kate Washington said the child protection system was broken and needed reform. A government review of the foster care system is under way.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.