Inspector of Detention Services: Annual operational report 2023–24

I am pleased to present the first annual report on the operations of the Inspector of Detention Services, as required by s 21 of the Inspector of Detention Services Act 2022 (IDS Act). 

This operational report sits alongside the Office of the Queensland Ombudsman’s Annual Report 2023–24, which includes financial and non-financial performance reporting, organisational information and governance arrangements for the whole organisation, including the Detention Services Inspection Unit (DSIU).

The IDS Act fully commenced on 1 July 2023. Under the IDS Act, the Ombudsman is also the Inspector of Detention Services. 

The purpose of the IDS Act is to improve detention services, with a focus on promoting and upholding the humane treatment and conditions of detainees and preventing them from being subject to harm. 

The IDS Act establishes a framework for achieving its purpose by: 

• publishing standards for inspection
• reviewing detention services and inspecting places of detention 
• independent and transparent reporting. 

Places of detention include community corrections centres, prisons, watch-houses, work camps or youth detention centres.

Since 1 July 2023, we have achieved a number of significant milestones:

• establishing DSIU within the Office of the Queensland Ombudsman
• developing and publishing inspection standards for prisons and youth detention centres 
• commencing inspections of places of detention including prisons, youth detention centres and watch-houses
• reporting to the Legislative Assembly on two inspections:
  • Cleveland Youth Detention Centre inspection report: Focus on separation due to staff shortages
  • Cairns and Murgon watch-houses inspection report: Focus on detention of children
• establishing an online presence, and publications such as Inspector’s News, to inform the community about our work
• undertaking extensive engagement with detainees, community organisations and government agencies.

The support provided by the Office of the Queensland Ombudsman’s executive and corporate services teams was integral to the successful establishment of the new DSIU. These teams continue to provide ongoing business support to the DSIU in a range of areas including the tabling and publication of reports. 

In the year ahead, we plan to:

• finalise reports on inspections commenced in 2023–24
• undertake further inspections
• develop processes for monitoring and reporting on recommendations 
• progress inspection standards for watch-houses.

I would like to thank the senior managers and staff of the Department of Youth Justice, Queensland Corrective Services and the Queensland Police Service for their support for the establishment of our functions over the past year, and the open manner in which they have engaged with us.

I would also like to acknowledge the assistance of many government agencies and non-government organisations, as well as independent inspectors from other jurisdictions. 

Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to those who are held in places of detention for their willingness to engage with our officers and assist our work.

Anthony Reilly
Ombudsman and Inspector of Detention Services 
October 2024

In accordance with s 21(2)(a) of the IDS Act, in this section of the report we describe the functions performed by the Inspector during the reporting period 2023–24.

Standards

Preparing and publishing standards in relation to inspections is a function for the Inspector under s 8(1)(d) of the IDS Act. 
In August 2023, the Inspector approved inspection standards for Queensland prisons and for Queensland youth detention centres. The standards, supported by summary ‘quick guides’, are published on the Office’s website (www.ombudsman.qld.gov.au). 

The standards were informed by a number of sources, including the IDS Act, relevant Queensland legislation, the Human Rights Act 2019 and relevant international rules for best practice. Existing standards being used by established independent inspectors in other jurisdictions were also a significant source of guidance. 

The Inspector undertook extensive consultation as part of the process of setting the standards. This included direct engagement with public sector agencies and community stakeholders, and an open invitation on the Office’s website calling for submissions. More than 26 government and community organisations made submissions during the consultation period.

The standards for prisons and youth detention centres recognise and highlight the importance of understanding and providing culturally appropriate services for the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners. 

In addition to providing guidance for the inspection work, the standards establish a set of best practice principles for the humane treatment of detainees and to prevent detainees from being subjected to harm while detained.

We have commenced initial drafting for watch-house standards, and aim to complete this work in 2024–25.

Inspections

Inspecting places of detention is a function of the Inspector under s 8(1)(b) of the IDS Act. 

While the IDS Act enables the Inspector to inspect a place of detention at any time, it also provides that the Inspector must:

• inspect each youth detention centre every year (three youth detention centres)
• inspect each prison that is a secure facility at least once every five years (14 prisons to be inspected are listed in Schedule 1 of the Corrective Services Regulation 2017)
• inspect other places of detention prescribed by regulation at least once every five years (the Brisbane City Watch-house and the Southport Watch-house are listed in the Inspector of Detention Services Regulation 2023).

Process

A complete inspection of a place of detention is a complex, multi-staged process. 

Broadly, an inspection consists of five phases: 

• planning 
• information gathering 
• engaging with detainees
• conducting an onsite visit to the place of detention
• analysing information and forming conclusions.

The inspection report is then prepared and provided to the Speaker for tabling in parliament. The Inspector’s report on each inspection will be public once the report is tabled in parliament.

Engagement

Engagement with detainees plays an important part in this process. This helps to ensure the lived experience of detention contributes to the consideration of improvements in detention services. 

DSIU officers’ engagement with detainees is structured to commence early in the inspection process and continue to the onsite inspection phase. This helps to account for the turnover of those who are detained and to build trust with those detained to improve communication. 

Our engagement team also builds connections with groups that interact with detained people in Queensland. Community engagement provides valuable insights and connections with detainees and the community. These connections enrich our inspections by helping us get a full picture of the environment of a place of detention. It also helps stakeholder groups gain a greater understanding of our role. This input is vital to producing reports that examine the systems and the lived experiences of people in detention.

Our three engagement advisors are people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent with lived and worked experience all over Queensland, including rural and remote communities and the Torres Strait Islands. 

2023–24 inspections

In 2023–24, seven inspections of places of detention commenced in this order:

• Cleveland Youth Detention Centre
• Murgon Watch-house
• Southern Queensland Correctional Centre
• Cairns Watch-house 
• West Moreton Youth Detention Centre
• Palen Creek Correctional Centre
• Brisbane Youth Detention Centre.

Reports 

Reporting to the Legislative Assembly is a function of the Inspector under s 8(1)(e) of the IDS Act. 

Reports on the following inspections that commenced in 2023–24 were tabled after the 2023–24 reporting period but prior to the finalisation of this report:

• Cleveland Youth Detention Centre inspection report: Focus on separation due to staff shortages (tabled in parliament on 27 August 2024)
• Cairns and Murgon watch-houses inspection report: Focus on detention of children (tabled in parliament on 11 September 2024).

Reports for each of the other inspections commenced in 2023–24 are underway. 

The inspection reports on places of detention are published on the Office of the Queensland Ombudsman’s website (www.ombudsman.qld.gov.au) after tabling in the Legislative Assembly. To support accessibility of our reports, an 'easy read' version of each report is published alongside the full report.

In addition to describing the functions performed by the Inspector, s 21(2) of the IDS Act also requires this report to include:

• recommendations for changes in the law of the State the Inspector considers should be made, or for administrative action the Inspector considers should be taken, as a result of the performance of the Inspector’s functions
• an evaluation of actions taken in response to recommendations made by the Inspector, whether during the reporting period or previously
• any ministerial request, including those made previously but not finally dealt with by the Inspector
• a description of any referral of a relevant matter to a responsible Minister under s 17(5)(b) made during the reporting period.

Recommendations

While there were recommendations made in the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre inspection report and the Cairns and Murgon watch-houses inspection report, these reports were tabled in parliament outside the 2023–24 reporting period (27 August 2024 and 11 September 2024 respectively). 

However, recommendations were made to the Minister for Youth Justice under s 17(7) of the IDS Act following a referral pursuant to s 17(5)(b) of the IDS Act.

Referral to Minister

Under s 17(5)(b) of the IDS Act, the Inspector may refer a matter to a relevant responsible Minister if the Inspector has a reasonable suspicion that:

• there is, or has been, a serious risk to the security, management, control, safety, care or wellbeing of a detainee at a place of detention
• a detainee is being, or has been, subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment at a place of detention.

On 26 March 2024, the Inspector referred concerns to the Minister for Education and Minister for Youth Justice (the Minister) about children being separated at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre (CYDC) for extended periods in rooms without basic facilities such as a toilet, a basin with running water, a seat or a bed. The Inspector also advised the Minister of further concern about advice from the department that similar rooms without basic facilities are included in the designs for the new therapeutic detention centres to be built at Woodford and Cairns. 

The Inspector made the referral on the basis that he considered the use of separation rooms to present a serious risk to the safety, care and wellbeing of children in detention. In doing so, he noted that the approach to these matters in Queensland’s youth detention centres is inconsistent with Queensland’s adult prisons, which ensure basic facilities are available to prisoners in separate confinement. It is also inconsistent with practices in other jurisdictions and international human rights instruments.

Recommendations to the Minister

Under s 17(7) of the IDS Act, the Inspector is required to give the Minister advice or make recommendations about referred matters.
The Inspector made the following recommendations: 

1. The department recognises the importance of ensuring that children are not locked in rooms that do not have basic facilities, including a toilet, a basin with running water, and a bed or seat for any length of time. 
2. The department should ensure that separation rooms and holding cells in the two proposed new youth detention centres at Cairns and Woodford have basic facilities in them including a toilet, a basin with running water, and a bed or seat. 
3. The department should prioritise the implementation of improvements to the separation rooms and holding cells at CYDC to ensure that they have basic facilities in them including a toilet, a basin with running water, and a bed or seat. 
4. The department should closely monitor the use of separation rooms and holding rooms at CYDC to ensure that they are only being used as an option of last resort and for the shortest time possible.

On 18 April 2024, the Director-General of the department responded to the recommendations made to the Minister. On 13 May 2024, the Minister also responded, noting the Director-General’s responses to our recommendations.

Evaluation of actions in response to recommendations

Appendix A contains pages 47–49 of the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre inspection report, including: 

• recommendations to the Minister (recommendations 5 to 8)
• actions being taken in response to each of the recommendations
• our assessment of those actions.

The IDS operational report 2024–25 will include:

• further evaluation of any actions taken in response to recommendations made in the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre inspection report
• an evaluation of any action taken in response to recommendations made in the Cairns and Murgon watch-houses inspection report
• any reports tabled in parliament during the 2024–25 reporting period.

Ministerial requests

There were no ministerial requests during the reporting period. 

Appendix A: Cleveland Youth Detention Centre inspection report: Focus on separation due to staff shortages (PDF 1.1MB)

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