2 days ago
Report reveals increase in isolations at Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre at Cavan
A new report has revealed isolations at South Australia's only youth detention centre increased by 50 per cent during a period last year and has questioned the legality of their use, with one respondent saying they felt they were being "punished like a dog".
The report into the Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre at Cavan, which was tabled in state parliament last Tuesday, found that some children were 'in effect' being isolated as 'a form of punishment' – despite this being prohibited by the state's youth justice regulations.
The report found the number of isolations – both ordered by staff and requested by detainees – increased by 50 per cent over a period in 2024.
'The use of isolation as a routine response to complexity, behavioural risk, or staffing constraints undermines the rehabilitative intent of youth detention and reflects a failure to meet required standards of care,' the report states.
'Children and young people report being locked in their rooms for periods with reduced access to education, exercise, or human connection.
'The psychological impact of being isolated without clear explanation or foreseeable end was raised by children and young people as a source of distress.'
The Department of Human Services, which manages the facility, was also accused of 'under-reporting and misclassification' of isolation orders at the facility.
The report, which examined records from early and mid-2024, was compiled by Training Centre Visitor Shona Reid, who is legislated to advocate for those detained at Kurlana Tapa.
Ms Reid said the investigation was prompted by an increase in requests to her office from children and young people 'who felt that they were 'unfairly' being ordered to isolate in their rooms'.
The report found that 'in many cases' isolation was used 'without clear adherence to the required legal grounds' and 'in ways that may be perceived by children and young people as punitive or humiliating'.
It said isolation in these circumstances was contrary to SA's Charter of Rights for Youths Detained in Training Centres and had "the potential to breach multiple provisions of international law'.
'Serious questions remain about the lawful authority for a range of isolation practices,' the report states under a headline titled 'unlawful or unregulated use of isolation'.
One child reportedly described the experience as being 'punished like a dog and forgotten'.
Another reportedly said they feared the system would 'never see them as more than their worst moments'.
'These are not isolated accounts,' the report states.
Human Services Minister Nat Cook, asked about the report's claim of unlawful or unregulated isolation practices, said she had 'every confidence that the law and the regulations are being followed'.
'I don't believe that the staff are breaching those rules,' she said.
'They're following procedure and keeping children as safe as they possibly can in this environment where things are often heightened.'
Ms Cook said Ms Reid's report was using 'quite a long period of data' during which the state government has made 'a range of procedure and staff changes'.
She added that the time children and young people were spending in isolation was 'brief'.
'When we look at last year's data for isolation, the average time that a young person or a child spends in an isolation circumstance is 14 minutes,' she said.
'It's not recurring, it's as isolated as it can be in terms of the event, but it's as supported and as comfortable as it can be as well given the feeling and emotion that's being displayed by a young person.'
Asked whether staff were properly explaining to children why they were being put in isolation, Ms Cook said: 'There is absolutely a procedure that's followed.'
'I am very confident in the youth justice team … that they make every attempt possible to ensure that young people are spoken to and spoken with and listened to,' she said.
Kurlana Tapa, also known as the Adelaide Youth Training Centre, is SA's only youth detention centre.
In 2023-24, it had a daily average population of 32 children and young people.
Ms Reid's report examined the frequency of both 'staff-ordered' and 'resident requested' isolations.
A resident requested isolation occurs when a young person requests to return to their room outside of scheduled lockdown hours to get away from peers.
From the third quarter of 2023-24 to the first quarter of 2024-25, the number of staff ordered isolations increased from 162 to 215.
Over the same period, the number of resident requested isolations rose from 31 to 100.
Ms Reid said the 50 per cent increase in total isolations likely reflected 'a persistently high reliance on the technique of isolation to create separation from peers, especially during education hours and afternoon shifts'.
She said the report found one case where a child had spent six hours in isolation because it overlapped across several different administrative isolation times.
'Whilst administratively they're not considered by the staff or the centre as isolation, they're very real experiences for children,' he said.
'We need to be really careful how we use those, and that is why I'm making those very strong claims that we need to be mindful of the law and our international obligations towards children's rights in these settings.'
In response to questions about the lawfulness of its isolation practices, a spokesperson for the Department of Human Services said isolation is 'considered an acute response to a risk presented by an individual'.
'This may be for example, a proactive response to ensure the safety of one young person from another,' the spokesperson said in a statement.
'Isolation also includes when a young person requests to be in their room, for example if they are unwell and want to sleep.
'Staff must adhere to operational procedures in line with the Regulations when using isolation at Kurlana Tapa, including approval processes, record-keeping and review requirements."
The spokesperson added that staff must also 'ensure that young people subject to isolation have access to their rights' under the Charter of Rights for Youths Detained in Training Centres.
'These requirements are reflected in staff training and supervision.'
Ms Reid's report makes three recommendations, which include amending legislation to provide 'robust guidance' on the use of isolation as well as greater investment in staff training and IT systems.
Ms Cook said the government would respond 'as quickly as we can' to the recommendations, adding that some suggestions were already in train.
'We're very confident that we've already addressed quite a large percentage of those pieces of work that need to go towards fulfilling the recommendations,' she said.
'In terms of making sure that the policy meet the practice, the practice is being delivered as it should be, and children are at the centre of that.'
