Tasmania locked detained kids in their rooms 74 times each in a month over staff shortages
A 2023 Commission of Inquiry found Tasmania's Ashley Youth Detention Centre carried a live abuse risk and recommended it close as soon as possible; the state government, which had promised closure by the end of 2024 and then 2026, pushed the date back to early 2028 in May 2025. In August 2026 Tasmania's Interim Commissioner for Children and Young People, Ros Cornish, reported that from January to April 2026 children at Ashley were isolated in their rooms more often for 'operational staff shortage' than for their behaviour, averaging 74 staff-shortage isolations per young person in January. The commissioner found the inquiry's isolation reforms incomplete, with law changes delayed until 2027 and out-dated isolation procedures still in force. The Department for Education, Children and Young People said a revised isolation procedure will be in place by the end of December 2026.
The closure of a youth detention centre with an "ongoing abuse risk" has been further pushed back
In January, there were an average of 74 OSS isolations per young person, compared with 15 for behavioural reasons.
The department committed to a revised Use of Isolation Procedure by end of December 2026 and to prioritise recruitment.
Said Ashley cannot close before a new functional detention facility is built, expected before the end of 2027.
No outcome recorded yet.