Justice Matrix · Issues
Children in detention: the inquiries that exposed it

What happens to children inside youth detention, and what have the inquiries found?

Royal commissions and inspectorate reports into conditions, abuse, and the use of adult prisons for children.

20 cases4 campaigns1999–2025
19992025
The Law20
anchorPendinghigh
OICS Review of Banksia Hill Detention Centre
Inspector of Custodial Services · 2022
anchorFavorablehigh
Royal Commission into Protection and Detention of Children in NT
Royal Commission · 2017
Pendinghigh
TAS Commission of Inquiry - Ashley Youth Detention
Commission of Inquiry · 2023
Adversehigh
WA Inspector Report - Unit 18 Casuarina
Inspector of Custodial Services · 2023
Favorablehigh
Dylan Voller Settlement with NT Government (2023)
NT Supreme Court · 2023
Pendinghigh
WA Inspector of Custodial Services Report on Banksia Hill (2023)
Inspector of Custodial Services · 2023
Pendinghigh
QLD Watch House Crisis - Children in Adult Police Cells
QLD Human Rights Commission · 2023
Adversehigh
WA Unit 18 Casuarina Inquiry 2022
2022
Favorablehigh
Voller v Northern Territory (2021) HCA
High Court of Australia · 2021
Pendinghigh
Banksia Hill FASD Prevalence Study (2018)
Telethon Kids Institute / AJPH · 2018
Favorablehigh
Children in Isolation at Barwon Prison (2016-17)
Victorian Supreme Court · 2017
Favorablehigh
Use of Force in Don Dale Youth Detention Centre (2015-2016)
Royal Commission · 2016
Pendinghigh
NT Tear Gas Incident — Don Dale (2014)
NT Children's Commissioner · 2014
Adversemedium
UN Special Rapporteur Visit to Australia — Detention Conditions (2024)
UN Human Rights Council · 2024
Pendingmedium
NSW Inspector of Custodial Services - Youth Justice
NSW Inspector of Custodial Services · 2023
Pendingmedium
SA Training Centre Visitor - Kurlana Tapa Reports
SA Training Centre Visitor · 2023
Favorablemedium
Commission of Inquiry into QLD Youth Detention
Commission of Inquiry · 1999
Australia: Children Suffering Under Criminal Legal System
Various · 2025
Cleveland Dodd Death in Custody Investigation
2024
Death in WA Youth Detention - Accountability Gaps
Various · 2024
The Movement4
The People0
Lived-experience accounts for this issue are not in the matrix yet. Contribute one.
Playbook

What worked, what failed, what is reusable.

Conditions evidence forces the inquiry. Footage and inspectorate reports (Don Dale, Banksia Hill, Unit 18, Ashley) turned isolated complaints into royal-commission findings. The record is the weapon.

Findings are not change. Don Dale produced a royal commission in 2017; the conditions cases kept recurring at Banksia Hill, the Queensland watch houses, and Unit 18. An inquiry that is not enforced becomes a citation for the next one.

The movement half. Close Don Dale and Close Ashley translated findings into a single demand: shut the facility. A concrete closure target outlasts a list of recommendations.

Reusable kit: build the conditions record, convert it into an independent inquiry, then attach a closure or enforcement demand so the findings bite.

Research resource, not legal advice. Read the original source before acting. Cases and campaigns are gathered by shared issue tags; some may be machine-extracted and pending human review.