Lawsuit claims teens forced to 'fight' for guards' 'entertainment' at Darwin's Don Dale detention centre

Australia Broadcast Center

24-04-2025

A former youth detainee who claims he was forced to "fight other children" for the guards' "entertainment" and spend hours cutting grass with scissors is suing the Northern Territory government for negligence, assault and false imprisonment.
In a statement of claim filed with the NT Supreme Court, the man — who cannot be named for legal reasons — said he was detained at
The man, now aged in his 30s, alleges he was repeatedly assaulted by guards while in custody, including having his head "slammed" against a door and his arms pushed behind his back "causing both shoulders to dislocate".
"The plaintiff was required to perform gardening duties in the grounds of Don Dale … on more than five occasions the plaintiff was directed by [two guards] to use scissors to cut the grass by hand," the court documents read.
The man claims he was made to cut the grass at the notorious facility using a pair of scissors as a form of "punishment".
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ABC News: Tristan Hooft
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"The plaintiff believes that the direction to cut grass with scissors may have been a punishment.
"It is alleged that this constitutes physical abuse as the action was intended to inflict discomfort on the plaintiff."
'Racial vilification'
The man also claims he was disrespected "on various occasions" by another guard who told him that "he was a worthless human, had no life, should be killed and that he will be in prison for 15 years".
"On about five occasions in or about 2010 or 2011 youth workers told the plaintiff he should fight other children for their entertainment," the statement of claim reads.
"On a further three to five occasions, when the plaintiff stated he could not go to school after receiving treatment for rheumatic fever, youth workers said they did not believe him and placed the plaintiff in the BMU [behavioural management unit] cells from 9am to 3.30pm without lawful authority."
The NT government's defence says the former detainee was "using foul language towards staff", "back chatting" and "play fighting".
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ABC News: Tiffany Parker
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The man claims the guards' actions "constitute racial vilification" as they "could incite hatred, serious contempt, revulsion and/or severe ridicule of the plaintiff on the grounds that he was an Aboriginal child".
He says the post-traumatic stress disorder he acquired from his time in Don Dale affected his education and employment prospects, and he is seeking more than a decade's lost earnings as a result.
Government alleges teen was 'back chatting', 'play fighting'
In its defence filed with the court, the NT government broadly denied the claims and refuted the specific allegations of mistreatment.
Photo shows
The exterior of the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, with barbed wire in the foreground.
Four former detainees who were tear gassed in 2014 at Darwin's notorious Don Dale Youth Justice Centre have had their $1 million payout slashed.
Instead, it said the detainee used "foul language" towards guards and back chatted after receiving directions.
The defence alleges it was the plaintiff who assaulted other youth detainees and had "to be reminded on several occasions to cease play fighting", and claims he was placed in the BMU "in consequence of [his own] behaviour".
"At all material times, officers were acting in good faith in the exercise or purported exercise of a power, or the performance or purported performance of a function, under the [Youth Justice Act]," it reads.
The case is due to return to court on May 9 for an administrative hearing.