United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention unable to access Banksia Hill Youth Detention Centre or Unit 18 in Western Australia
Only one place in Australia has confirmed it allowed United Nations inspectors into their youth detention facilities, with both WA and the NT stating ‘safety issues’ prevented visits. Read the latest here.
The United Nations was unable to access youth detention centres in Western Australia, after also being barred from entering Northern Territory watch houses, mental health facilities and adult and children’s prisons.
The NT News confirmed the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was not able to access either the Banksia Hill Youth Detention Centre or ‘Unit 18’ — a youth wing of the Casuarina high-security adult prison south of Perth.
The Working Group is currently on a 12-day tour of Australia investigating places of detention for children, prisoners, migrants or people with mental health issues to ensure they are compliant with national and international laws.
On Wednesday the WA Justice Department confirmed the human rights experts were currently in the state visiting a “number of facilities”, while Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia said delegates would be provided access to detention facilities “where safe and appropriate”.
“The State Government works closely with oversight bodies and our custodial facilities are regularly visited by advocates and other stakeholders,” Mr Papalia said.
However it is understood the two-member delegation was unable to access either of the prisons currently holding Western Australian children.
The WA Justice Department said it had “indicated to the UN that it will consider more visits in the future where it is appropriate and safe to do so”.
It comes after it was revealed the NT Government also blocked the UN from all places of detention, and stopped Department heads from meeting with the delegation.
NT Corrections Minister Gerard Maley blamed “operational capacity, safety and workforce resourcing priorities” as the reason to deny access.
However that same week, NT Corrections hosted a United Arab Emirates delegation on a tour of Holtze Youth Detention Centre and Darwin Correctional Centre.
The Arbitrary Detention inspectors visit comes as remand numbers spike in the NT, with 41 per cent of adults and 83 per cent of kids stuck in prison while waiting for their day in court.
Only one jurisdiction confirmed it allowed the UN to access a youth detention centre, with the working group making an unannounced visit to Bimberi Youth Justice Centre in the Australian Capital Territory.
The ACT was also the only jurisdiction to confirm the UN working group was provided access to all facilities it requested to inspect during their visit in early December, also visiting the adult prison, Alexander Maconochie Centre and the Canberra Health Services mental health unit.
“The ACT Government is committed to transparency and accountability to ensure those in our care and custody are treated with respect and dignity,” an ACT Government spokesman said.
“Their visit is part of a broader review across Australia to ensure that practices align with obligations under international law, including the prevention of arbitrary detention and the protection of detainee rights.”
New South Wales Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said working group were also provided access to “several correctional facilities”.
The NSW premier’s department was asked to confirm there were no facilities the UN delegation was denied access to, however did not respond.
Unlike NSW and Queensland in 2022, WA and the Territory did allow UN experts access to its detention centres during Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture inspections.
The OPCAT report highlighted particularly “poor” conditions in Australia’s children’s prisons, specifically calling out theWA and NT facilities, and advocated for increased staffing levels.
“In Banksia Hill Detention Centre, the Subcommittee observed cells with mattresses on the floor, and no running water, working showers or televisions,” the OPCAT report said.
“Children were left alone in their cells for up to 23 hours per day, amounting to de facto solitary confinement, with lighting in cells controlled from outside.”
While the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre — which has reverted back to the adult Berrimah prison — was described as being covered in graffiti with children provided “insalubrious bed sheets” and there was evidence of kids being kept in a “small, caged area of approximately 5 m2 in an outdoor area”.
“In both centres, the Subcommittee observed extremely small cells, lack of ventilation in cells, and putrid odours,” it said.
During the 12 day visit, the Working Group is understood to have visited Silverwater Women’s Prison and Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre in NSW, the Alexander Maconochie Centre and Canberra Health Services mental health unit, and the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre in ACT, as well as a WA adult correctional centre.
Federal Attorney General Michelle Rowland has distanced the Commonwealth from the NT Government’s recent decision.
“The decision of the Northern Territory to not participate in the visit is a matter for their government,” a spokesman for her officer said.
“The decision does not reflect the position of the Albanese Government..
“The Commonwealth has worked collaboratively with the states and territories and the Working Group to facilitate communications and support preparations for a successful visit.”
But Greens Senator and Justice spokesman David Shoebridge said the Territory’s refusal to allow UN inspectors into the prison was in contradiction of a recent promise by the federal government.
Mr Shoebridge said following the moves by NSW and Queensland in 2022 to deny UN watchdogs full access to facilities, the Federal Government claimed to have worked with all states and territories to secure access.
“Whatever the Federal Labor government has done has not worked, and the inspectors have again been denied entry,” he said.
“Three years of letters, meetings, and ‘constructive dialogue’ have produced nothing but broken promises and blocked access.
“This is a failure of national leadership.”
Mr Shoebridge said given the Commonwealth funded 80 per cent of the NT’s budget, it should be able to “demand accountability”.
The UN delegation is expected to present their preliminary findings at a press conference in Sydney on Friday, with their final report to be tabled to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026.
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Originally published as United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention unable to access Banksia Hill Youth Detention Centre or Unit 18 in Western Australia
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