NT to reinstate use of spit hoods in youth detention, eight years after royal commission sparked ban

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2 days ago

The Northern Territory government has flagged it will reinstate the use of spit hoods on young people in youth detention centres, almost eight years after the practice was banned.
The proposal is one of several changes to the Youth Justice Act 2005 and Youth Justice Regulations 2006 expected to be introduced and debated in NT parliament this week by the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government.
In a statement on Monday, the government said the proposed changes would also include:
The CLP pledged during last year's NT election to reintroduce the use of spit hoods on youths if elected to government.
On Monday, NT Deputy Chief Minister and Corrections Minister Gerard Maley said the legislative changes would be introduced to parliament as a matter of "urgency", following the stabbing at the weekend of a 15-year-old boy at the Royal Darwin Show.
Mr Maley said the "community have had enough" when it came to youth crime in the territory.
"This is another piece of legislation we're going to do to make sure Territorians can go to work, go to the show and live in the Northern Territory safely," he said.
NT Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley said the proposed amendments were about ensuring "safety and security" for staff and young people in youth detention centres.
"These amendments this week are about making sure our staff have the tools, the powers and the procedures to make sure that environment is safe and secure,' he said.
"We're wanting to see a change to the past where our officers have been exposed to risk, our officers have been exposed to assault and harm, and our youth detention centres have been damaged and destroyed.
Controversy over the NT's use of spit hoods received significant media attention in 2016 following an ABC Four Corners report into the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, which led to then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announcing a royal commission into juvenile justice and child protection in the territory.
In 2017, following the federal government's formal endorsement of a United Nations protocol against torture and inhumane punishments, the NT government stopped the use of spit hoods and restraint chairs in youth detention centres.
However, it was not until 2022 that the use of spit hoods for youth in police custody was also banned by the then-Labor government, though the ban was never formalised in legislation.
In a statement on Monday, an NT Police Force (NTPF) spokesperson confirmed that since October 2024, spit hoods had once again been made available to use on youths in police watch houses and cells.
"The NTPF have strict policies in place for their use", the spokesperson said.
NT Children's Commissioner Shahleena Musk said the proposed amendments to the Youth Justice Act reflected a "failure" by the government "to meet with key stakeholders, including legal and social service experts".
"It goes against all the evidence of what actually works to try to reduce challenging behaviours, particularly in a custodial setting," she said.
"We're the only jurisdiction that is now going back to using spit hoods on children.
Ms Musk said she was also concerned about the planned change to ensure detention was no longer a last resort.
"[It] is against international law, it's against child rights. It can lead to unjust dispositions by the court, that is not able to then balance the needs of that child against other considerations," she said.
Opposition Leader Selena Uibo labelled the government's decision a "reactive, knee-jerk response" that would not have a "holistic impact when it comes to improving community safety".
"Everything that these millions and millions of dollars of royal commissions or reports have shown not to do, the CLP is doing," she said.
In a statement, the National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls also condemned the proposed amendments and called for "the urgent withdrawal of this legislation".
"These proposed changes represent a punitive attack on the rights, dignity, and lives of children in the Northern Territory," said Debbie Kilroy OAM, chief executive of Sisters Inside.
Ms Kilroy labelled the re-introduction of spit hoods as a "grotesque failure of leadership", and cited the interstate cases of Wayne Fella Morrison and Selesa Taifaifa — who both died following incidents involving the use of spit hoods — as examples of their "deadly consequences".
"Let us be clear: spit hoods are instruments of torture. They are used to degrade, control and silence," Ms Kilroy said.
Ms Kilroy also criticised the planned removal of the principle of detention as a last resort.
"Many of the children who appear before the courts are themselves victims — victims of violence, poverty, neglect, racism and state failure," she said.
"They are not born 'offenders', they are criminalised by a system that was never designed to protect them."
The proposed amendments will be introduced to the NT parliament on Tuesday.