Children held at the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre will be transferred 1,500 kilometres away to the notorious Don Dale facility for up to three months due to "major upgrades", according to the Department of Territory Families.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the department said a refit of the facility's accommodation was expected to take up to 12 weeks in early 2023.
During that time, young people who would usually be housed at the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre will be transferred to Don Dale, near Darwin.
The move has deeply concerned some youth advocates who say a large-scale transfer of detainees to Don Dale will have detrimental effects on the wellbeing and rehabilitation of affected young people who will be far from family and support.
The plan has prompted youth justice advocates to call for the early release of young people currently being held on remand instead of forcing them to make the move.
The number of young people on remand in the NT has steadily grown since changes to the youth bail act in May 2021.
The revelation emerges five years after a royal commission recommended the closure of the Darwin youth detention centre and after Four Corners broadcast vision last month of "excessive force" being used on a child who was classified as being at risk of self-harm.
The department has confirmed it is yet to consult with detainees and their families and carers about the move.
It says that's because "it is unlikely that the majority of young people we have now will be the same young people by the time the works commence".
Rehabilitation disrupted
Mark Munnich, Acting chief executive of the National Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), has raised concerns about the transfers with the Department of Territory Families.
"There are many flow-on effects," he said.
"… The disruption of rehabilitation, impacts on social and emotional wellbeing, safety, isolation, risk of further criminalisation, that makes us very concerned about young people being transferred."
The not-for-profit legal service was initially assured the large-scale transfer would not go ahead but has now been told it is unavoidable.
Arrernte man Tyson Carmody is the founder and managing director of Kings Narrative, an organisation working directly with young Aboriginal kids held in the Alice Springs Detention Centre.
He said it would be impossible to continue delivering the Throughcare program that prepares detainees for release if they are transferred to Darwin.
"If we don't have physical access to [the detainees], if they're up in Darwin, we don't have capacity to be flying up to Darwin to see them," Mr Carmody said.
He said his team would try and support kids and work with centre staff, regardless of any disruptions.
If the transfer goes ahead, Mr Munnich said detainees would be effectively removed from "their entire support network," including their family, carers, case workers, social workers, health workers, NDIS support workers and their lawyers.
"All of which are vital in assisting their rehabilitation and reorientation to integrate back into community post-release," Mr Munnich said.
On Tuesday morning, Territory Families Minister Kate Worden told ABC Radio Darwin the remaining upgrades to the centre required detainees to be moved.
"Over that time [12 weeks] it's got to be a rolling program, so we won't be able to accommodate all of the young people that are there the whole time," she said.
"We will need to move young people up to Darwin to keep them and the community safe, but also then to make sure that we [are] able to refurbish and get that centre completely finished, which needs to be done over the next three months [to] get it up and running in 2023."
She also said moving children in detention between Alice Springs and Darwin was "not new" and happened "often".
A Department of Territory Families spokesperson has told the ABC that young people's wellbeing will remain a priority throughout the transfer period.
"Any transfer being undertaken will be informed by cultural needs of young people and managed in close consultation with a young person's family, legal representatives and service providers," it said.
"Ensuring the ongoing delivery of education, programs, health and wellbeing services remains the priority for young people during this period."
Alternatives to detention
Mr Munnich and Olga Havnen, who is the co-chair of the NT Aboriginal Justice Agreement, both called on the Territory government to consider other alternatives and have called on the government to consider releasing young people early.
The majority of children held in youth detention across the NT are currently on remand, meaning they have not been found guilty of a crime.
Youth justice advocates attributed the high rates of remand to changes made to youth bail laws in 2021.
They said the changes had made it harder to get bail and harder to comply with bail provisions, meaning more young people were winding up in youth detention.
"I wonder why we wouldn't look at perhaps fast-tracking the release of young people, particularly if they're in there on remand," Ms Havnen said.
Communicating with families
Ms Havnen said communicating any planned transfer with both the detainees and their families was critical.
"It's a big move. And it's a long way from home for many of these young people. I'm concerned about whether or not the parents and families have been given adequate notice," Ms Havnen said.
"The more that you can share information with young people, and the better prepared they are for the move, and that they don't see this as a form of punishment or deprivation … that would be the ideal situation."
A spokesperson from the Department of Territory Families told the ABC that while consultation had begun with some key service delivery partners, they planned to consult with children and families once firm time frames were in place.
Acting Children's Commissioner, Nicole Hucks, has yet to be formally consulted by the Department of Territory Families on their plan to transfer the youth detainees, but further stressed the importance of family consultation.
"Considering the disruption the transfers will cause to the lives of these children, it is critical that consultation with appropriate family and community is undertaken to ensure the safety and wellbeing of these children," she said.
Detention centre upgrades
The $13.1 million Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre refurbishment will involve the development of a new medical and health area, recreation area, and redevelopment of the accommodation areas.
A Department of Territory Families spokesperson said the changes would "make ASYDC much more fit-for-purpose to support young people as they look to get their lives back on track".
A new youth detention centre in Darwin is also currently under construction after the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the NT recommended the permanent closure of the Don Dale facility.
Construction delays mean the new centre will not be opened until late 2023, but last week the national Greens party pledged to introduce a bill to federal parliament early next year to force Don Dale facility closure sooner on grounds it breaches Australia's international legal commitments.
