The "inhumane" treatment of a disabled man detained at a facility for 11 years has sparked an official complaint to Queensland's human rights watchdog.
Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion (QAI) are concerned about the indefinite detention of people at Brisbane's Forensic Disability Service (FDS), describing it as a "horrible, prison-like environment".
QAI chief executive Matilda Alexander highlighted the treatment of one man with an intellectual disability, dubbed "Adrian", who has been at the state-run facility since 2012.
Footage on the ABC's Four Corners program on Monday showed Adrian pacing in a caged courtyard of a locked unit where the report said he was largely kept in seclusion.
Ms Alexander believed the FDS was not appropriate for anyone with a disability, saying people at the facility had been the subject of excessive restrictive practices, solitary confinement and in some cases physical restraint.
The QAI has lodged a complaint with the Queensland Human Rights Commission about the treatment of Adrian and "broader concerns" about the FDS.
"We are very concerned about the indefinite detention of people with disabilities in Queensland," Ms Alexander told AAP.
"We think it is well and truly time this inhumane practice came to an end."
The FDS is a medium-security residential and treatment facility at Wacol in Brisbane's south that can accommodate up to 10 people.
The facility was set up to rehabilitate and improve skills for people with an intellectual disability who are held under a forensic order after being found to be unfit to stand trial.
However, Ms Alexander said some residents were being held indefinitely and kept in "cruel conditions".
Serious concerns about the facility had already been raised in a damning 2019 Queensland Ombudsman report, she said.
"The FDS is a horrible, prison-like environment that is not appropriate for people with disability," Ms Alexander said.
She said concerns about the indefinite detention of people with disabilities had been noted by the United Nations subcommittee for the prevention of torture.
The Disability Royal Commission had also recommended legislation to get rid of the practice, Ms Alexander added.
"The FDS is a failed model," she said.
"We are certainly hoping for immediate and substantial change."
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Tuesday said an investigation was under way when asked about the ABC report on Adrian.
"I understand that there are some very complex issues around this particular person," she told reporters.
"I understand that there has been an investigation that has been launched and I'll wait the outcomes of that investigation."
Ms Palaszczuk said the FDS usually featured people with a dual diagnosis.
"These are the most complex cases and the clinicians make the decision about who goes into a Forensic Disability Unit," she said.
"It is a balance between community safety as well as the clinicians' advice and we will always take the clinicians advice."
