New Ombudsman report on the transfer of a child from youth justice into an adult prison

Tabled in Parliament today, a new investigation report by the Victorian Ombudsman – ‘I just get dark, dark thoughts’: How DJCS considers human rights when applying to transfer children to adult prison – looked into how the Department of Justice and Community Safety considered the human rights of a 16-year-old child when applying to transfer them from a youth justice centre into an adult prison.

The investigation found that the decision to apply to transfer the child to an adult prison limited several of the child’s human rights, but the Department did not properly consider the child’s human rights, as required by Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. The Ombudsman found that the Department’s human rights assessment failed to demonstrate that the limitations on the child’s rights were reasonable or demonstrably justified

The Department’s cursory human rights assessment did not adequately address the impacts on each relevant right or the conditions the child would experience. The Ombudsman found that the human rights assessment was not used as a decision-making tool but was completed to support a decision that had already been made.

A second transfer application, completed by the Department when the child – by then 18 – was involved in another incident, was a distinct improvement on the original human rights assessment, providing a more defensible rationale for the transfer.

The Ombudsman made 8 recommendations, to the Minister for Youth Justice, the Attorney-General and the Department of Justice and Community Safety.

Three recommendations focused on law reform – amending the law so children cannot be transferred into adult prisons; ensuring the Youth Parole Board must consider the Charter when deciding on transfer decisions; and boosting children’s access to legal representation when dealing with the Youth Parole Board. These recommendations were not accepted.

The remaining recommendations focused on improving the quality of human rights assessments, building staff understanding of the Charter and providing guidance to children at risk of being transferred.

Download the full report and a summary: ‘I just get dark, dark thoughts’: How DJCS considers human rights when applying to transfer children to adult prison.