Staff from the Northern Territory's problematic Don Dale youth detention facility, along with others, could soon be working at Tasmania's Ashley Youth Detention Centre as understaffing continues to plague the facility.
Don Dale has been in the spotlight for years after being the focus of a $54 million inquiry investigating conditions in the NT's detention centres.
The review was prompted by ABC's Four Corners report on the youth detention centre, which highlighted the treatment of Dylan Voller, who was shown hooded in a restraint chair while in detention.
Ashley, the only custodial facility for young offenders in Tasmania, has recently been under the spotlight after being the focus of the commission of inquiry.
There have been wide calls for it to be immediately shut down following stories of trauma experienced by detainees and staff at the centre.
Tasmania's Education, Children and Youth Minister, Roger Jaensch, said the government was trying to alleviate Ashley's understaffing by recruiting from other youth justice centres around the country.
"We've reached out to the network of youth justice services in other parts of Australia, and we've made some opportunities available, and we are very glad we have some people who can come here and work for a period of time.
"The people we've targeted have great qualifications and skills, all the clearances they need to be able to hit the ground running and work alongside our existing staff."
The understaffing is clearly felt by detainees at Ashley, who are locked in their rooms and let out infrequently.
Mr Jaensch said schooling inside the detention centre continued in detainees' rooms during those periods of understaffing.
But that is not the case, according to at least one parent of a detainee currently in the facility.
The ABC has spoken with the mother of a child currently in the centre, who said he had been spending more than 22 hours a day in his cell with no access to educational materials.
The following is a transcript of a recent conversation between the detainee and his mother, provided to the ABC.
DETAINEE: "It's like when you're in your room, you don't matter."
MOTHER: "How long are you allowed out today?"
DETAINEE: "Two times... 45 minutes."
MOTHER: "So, an hour and a half?"
DETAINEE: "Yeah, the rest of the 22-and-a-half hours..."
MOTHER: "That's it? The rest of the time you are in your room on your own?"
DETAINEE: "Yeah."
MOTHER: "Is there no school at the moment either?"
DETAINEE: "We don't even go to school … that's illegal, mum. We should be able to go to school."
Adult prison staff could be brought in
There are 17 youth detention centres in Australia, and according to figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, on an average night in the June quarter of 2021, "there were 819 young people in youth detention in Australia due to their involvement, or alleged involvement, in crime".
The ABC understands staff from Tasmania's Risdon adult prison could also be brought from the state's south to meet the staffing shortfall.
Mr Jaensch said the government was "optimistic" about attracting new recruits.
"We are very optimistic about our ability to bring in some new people with experience from interstate as well as some people who have recently finished their training and induction at Ashley who are now part of the workforce there."
'We need trained youth workers, not prison guards'
In June, severe understaffing at Ashley Youth led to detainees being kept in their rooms for hours on end and only let out on a rotational 40-minute basis.
The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) said at the time, there were only four youth workers on day shifts — half the recommended number.
HACSU said staff numbers had fallen significantly over recent months, with some staff unable to work because they have been suspended facing investigation, while others are off because of workplace injuries.
The government said the centre did experience fluctuations in staffing from time to time.
"It's far from ideal; that's why our priority right now is on reaching out across government and across the youth justice systems nationally to get back up resources and extra staff," Mr Jaensch said.
The decision to recruit from other centres has been met with caution by HACSU.
The union's Tasmanian secretary Tim Jacobson said it was an "unsuitable" solution to a problem the government had known about for some time.
"We need a dedicated staffing resource that's fit for purpose … we need properly trained youth workers, not correctional officers, not prison guards."
Calls to close Ashley continue
The Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS) and Families and Children Tasmania (FACT) have joined calls by Tasmania's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Leanne McLean, for a rapid response crisis team to immediately be established and sent to the Ashley Youth Detention Centre.
TasCOSS chief executive Adrienne Picone said the 12 children and young people currently in detention at Ashley needed to receive care and support.
"These staff shortages mean the children and young people's right to health care, education and their right to access legal services are being denied, and we echo the calls of the commissioner," she said.
"Ideally, Ashley would close immediately."
Caroline Brown, chair of FACT, said the Tasmanian government needed to invest in targeted intervention services for the families of the children and young people at Ashley.
"We also strongly support working with these families to find alternative solutions to detention, such as kinship care options," she said.
"FACT would be very happy to work collaboratively with government to find solutions to these complex problems for the benefit of our children and young people."
Voice of experience
Keenan Mundine is co-founder of Deadly Connections, an organisation aiming to break the cycles of disadvantage, trauma, child protection and justice involvement experienced by First Nations people in Australia.
As an adolescent, he spent a lot of time in and out of the criminal justice system and was first incarcerated at 14.
"My experience of being 14 and being in a detention centre, after losing both my parents, after being removed from my two older siblings, and removed from my community and being displaced and interrupted so many times at a young age, I made some poor choices … it was tough," he said.
"I reacted to the world differently because of my early childhood trauma ... there was no counselling, there was no understanding in there."
He said he would like to see better resources and more support for young offenders.
"It's a critical time developmentally for them … if you deprive them socially of maturing and interacting like every other kid their age on the playground, by the time they turn 18, they're still 14."
'Significant reform'
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the Tasmanian government was on track to close the centre by the end of 2024.
He said better safeguards and protections had been implemented at Ashley, including CCTV technology and a new personal searches policy.
"We are re-setting our whole approach to the youth justice system," Mr Rockliff said.
"Significant reform has been occurring at the AYDC over recent years, and we are not waiting for the recommendations of the commission of inquiry to act where we can."
