Queensland unlawfully detained children in adult watch house without private toilet access, tribunal finds

The Queensland civil and administrative tribunal ruled on Monday that the conditions the three teenagers were kept in breached their rights. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

The Queensland government broke the law and violated the human rights of three children by detaining them in an adult-only watch house without private toilet access or clean clothes, according to a tribunal judgment.

The case was brought by three teenagers separately detained in the Cairns watch house between June 2021 and 2022. They were then aged between 13 and 17.