Australian Human Rights Commission condemns children’s isolation cells

The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) today expressed grave concern over recently released CCTV footage depicting a First Nations child of 13 years of age with an intellectual disability, being forcibly restrained and kept in an isolation cell in a Queensland police watch house.

National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds branded this treatment of a young child with a disability an ‘egregious breach’ of human rights.

“This extremely distressing footage emphasises yet again the urgent need for the safety and wellbeing of children to be made a national priority for Australia through National Cabinet.

“This would involve a commitment to evidence-based action to address the root causes of offending by children. These children need disability support, therapeutic responses and protection. Currently, we are brutalising our most vulnerable children as evidenced in this video and numerous other reports over decades,” Commissioner Hollonds said. 

“Police watchhouses are no place for children. I have witnessed myself that there are no windows, no natural light or fresh air. No education, rehabilitation or recreation is provided. The police officers had no training to care for children, most of whom come in with pre-existing disability, trauma and mental distress. 

“Children are being locked up in solitary confinement in these small rooms, as shown in the video, as punishment,” she said.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss emphasised the collaborative efforts with the Children's Commissioner to tackle systemic issues affecting Indigenous children. 

“The embarrassing maltreatment of children in Australian youth detention centres is now being discussed in international fora, such as at the 17th session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva last week. 

"Current approaches to children’s detention disproportionately affect children who have not received the necessary social and community supports – and too often these are First Nations children. 

“The system needs urgent reform to prioritise prevention and support, rather than perpetuating cycles of trauma and disadvantage. 

"Australian governments must all take responsibility for creating a just and supportive environment where every child, regardless of background, can thrive," Commissioner Kiss said. 

Disability Discrimination Commissioner Rosemary Kayess also highlights the need to end the criminalisation of disability. 

“There needs to be concerted efforts to address disadvantage and to foster the rights, safety and well-being of all children, rather than punitive criminal responses and punishment.

“The evidence from the recent Disability Royal Commission clearly demonstrates that the over-representation of children with disability, in particular First Nations children with disability, in the justice system reflects an experience of cumulative disadvantage, such as poverty, discrimination, family violence and other forms of abuse, disrupted family lives and resulted in homelessness,” Commissioner Kayess said.

The AHRC is advocating for reforms that use evidence to prevent crime – such as early intervention in child health and disability, keeping families in housing and out of poverty, mental health supports and keeping children at school learning.

The National Children’s Commissioner’s report, Help Way Earlier! How Australia can reform child justice and improve safety and wellbeing, will be tabled in Parliament in August. 

Media contact: media@humanrights.gov.au or 0457 281 897