WA Inspector Report - Unit 18 Casuarina
What was at stake
Inspection of Unit 18 at Casuarina adult prison where children were held. Found conditions breached international obligations and domestic law.
What happened
In 2023, the Inspector of Custodial Services for Western Australia conducted an unannounced inspection of Unit 18 at Casuarina adult prison, a facility where children were being held. The inspection found that minors were housed in an adult correctional facility, separated from the general adult population but still exposed to an adult prison environment. Of the children held there, 74% were Aboriginal, reflecting disproportionate Indigenous youth incarceration. The Inspector documented systemic failures in education access, recreational programs, and family contact arrangements. The children were effectively detained in conditions that failed to meet minimum standards for juvenile detention under both international obligations and Western Australian domestic law.
What the court decided
Children held in adult facility without adequate education, recreation, family contact. 74% Aboriginal. Recommended immediate transfer back to purpose-built facility.
How the court got there
The Inspector determined that housing children in an adult prison, even in a dedicated unit, inherently breaches the state's obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which require detention of minors to be in facilities appropriate to their developmental needs. The report found that the lack of structured education, meaningful recreation, and adequate family contact constituted violations of both the Children and Community Services Act 2004 (WA) and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty. Immediate transfer to purpose-built juvenile facilities was mandated as the only lawful remedy to rectify the ongoing breaches.
Statutes and cases cited
- § Convention on the Rights of the Child arts. 37, 40
- § Children and Community Services Act 2004 (WA) ss. 28, 45
- § International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights art. 24
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