{"id":9175,"date":"2021-03-09T15:19:12","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T04:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kelsolawyers.com\/au\/?post_type=institutions&p=9175"},"modified":"2026-04-16T11:34:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T01:34:38","slug":"youth-detention-centres","status":"publish","type":"institutions","link":"https:\/\/kelsolawyers.com\/au\/institutions\/youth-detention-centres\/","title":{"rendered":"Offending Institution: Youth Detention Centres in Victoria"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria has the power to remove children from their parents if the child is thought to be \u201cneglected\u201d or if the child has been charged or convicted of a criminal offence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Likewise, Victoria Police can remove children from their homes if they suspect the child is being neglected, and they can arrest a child who is suspected of criminal offences or if they have run away from state care.<\/span><\/p>\n

When children are removed from their homes, they become a \u201cstate ward\u201d, and between 1954 and 1970, the <\/span>Director of the Department was their legal guardian<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before 1954, charitable and religious organisations would house the children. In the 1960s, however, a wide range of state-run institutions were opened, including reception centres, remand centres, youth training centres and children\u2019s homes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Director of the Department had the power to place children in state-run institutions like Turana Youth Training Centre, Winlaton Youth Training Centre and Baltara Reception Centre – three of the harshest youth detention centres in Victoria.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Royal Commission, <\/span>13 former residents submitted evidence<\/span><\/a> about the physical, emotional and sexual abuse they experienced at Turana, Winlaton and Baltara. They were abused by staff members, social workers and other residents.<\/span><\/p>\n

The abuse had a devastating impact on their lives<\/span><\/a>. Most struggled with their physical well-being, mental health, employability, family life and relationships. Most have suffered and continue to suffer from depression, alcohol and drug abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the survivors agreed <\/span>the sexual abuse they experienced in state care ruined their lives<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reporting procedure at each of these detention centres was deplorable. The children were rarely heard and never cared for. In this article, we explore the inadequacies of youth detention centres in Victoria from the 1950s to the 1990s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Turana Youth Training Centre<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Turana was an institution for boys and young men in Parkville, Melbourne. It operated between<\/span><\/p>\n

1955 and the early 1990s until it was redeveloped as the Melbourne Youth Justice Centre.<\/span><\/p>\n

The survivors said they experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse during their stay at Turana. They were also forced to scrub the brickwork with a toothbrush as punishment to keep them occupied and compliant.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 200 former residents<\/span><\/a> of Turana Youth Training Centre have suffered ongoing trauma, nightmares and mental health issues as a result of their time in state care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Staff decided a resident was homosexual and tried to \u201ccure\u201d him with conversion therapy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Survivor Robert Cummings was being abused at Turana, but when he reported the abuse, the <\/span>staff concluded Robert was homosexual <\/span><\/a>and referred him for treatment to be \u201ccured\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The treatment was conversion therapy. <\/span>He had an electrode strapped to his ankle<\/span><\/a>, and he was shown images of naked men and women. <\/span>He would receive an electric shock whenever a naked man appeared on the screen<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Robert said he was subjected to 12 aversion therapy sessions. When the other boys found out, <\/span>he was labelled a \u201cbum boy\u201d and was sexually abused<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Robert told the staff the other boys were abusing him, the aversion therapist said, \u201c\u2018<\/span>well, we will need to up your dosage of electricity<\/span><\/a>\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYour arse belongs to us. If you don\u2019t do what we say, you\u2019ll go to Poplar House, and they\u2019ll cut your throat down there\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Norman Latham was sent to Turana in 1962 when he was 15 years old. As soon as he arrived, a senior officer told him he had to do whatever the officers said, or he\u2019d be sent to the infamous Poplar House.<\/span><\/p>\n

Norman was sexually assaulted nine times<\/span><\/a> by the same officer and <\/span>10 times by another senior officer<\/span><\/a>. Each time, he was threatened into remaining silent. He did not want to be sent to Poplar House.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joseph Marijancevic, on the other hand, lived at Turana when he was 11-years-old and again when he was 15 years old. He said he was cleaning the stairs with a toothbrush as punishment when an officer directed him to a broom closet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joseph was ‘king-hit’ in the back of the head<\/span><\/a>. When he came to, he was lying face down on a table in the broom closet. He had been raped.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another survivor known as BDB was raised as a boy but started identifying as a girl from a very young age. She was admitted to Turana in 1963 and was housed with 20 boys. From that day forward,<\/span> she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a larger, older boy.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some nights, <\/span>she\u2019d bang on the door and ask to go to the toilet<\/span><\/a> so she could avoid being assaulted. On one occasion, she was escorted from the dormitory by an officer who <\/span>exposed his genitals to her and demanded she touch them<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said the culture at Turana was \u201ctoxic\u201d and \u201cdangerous\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Former worker heard rumours a boy had been raped with a toothbrush<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A youth worker named Ashley Cadd, who worked at Turana Youth Training Centre, told the Royal Commission <\/span>he heard \u201crumours about a couple of officers\u201d<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>recalled hearing about a boy who had been raped with a toothbrush<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While he couldn\u2019t confirm if the rumours were true, he knew there was a culture of controlling the boys through punishment, and there was no focus on child welfare at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ashley told the commissioners<\/span> the dorms were \u201chell on wheels\u201d<\/span><\/a> for the children. Sometimes, <\/span>the boys would ask to sleep somewhere else<\/span><\/a> – that\u2019s when you knew they were scared for their own safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

He also mentioned a <\/span>small boy was transferred in the middle of the night to Poplar House<\/span><\/a>, where 16-year-old offenders – including a teenager charged with murder – were housed. Ashley said the boy \u201cwould have been terrified\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until Ashley left Turana that he learned the full extent of the problems there. The Department of Health\u2019s focus was facility maintenance and keeping costs down – not the welfare of the children.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI felt shocked. I felt ashamed,” he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

“I think now the commission has opened the tin of worms they’re going to have a lot of cases to deal with.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The superintendent knew the boys were being abused – but did nothing to stop it<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The assistant superintendent at Turana in 1966 became the Superintendent in 1968.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2015, he told the Royal Commission <\/span>a few boys had told him <\/span><\/a>other inmates had sexually abused them, but there was no formal complaint-handling procedure – so he virtually did nothing to stop it.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I would attempt to get the boy to talk or say to the chief or senior officer I think XX is troubled… keep an eye on it,” the Superintendent said.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

“They would say in effect they were being abused… they wouldn’t have used the term abuse. I have a memory of having a sense of him not telling me what happened … because he didn’t think I could protect him. I would not force [the boys] to reveal it.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Superintendent told the commissioners <\/span>boys would often keep the abuse to themselves<\/span><\/a> out of fear of being targeted or labelled \u201ca lagger\u201d or \u201ca dobber\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the commissioners questioned the Superintendent about the reporting process, he said there was an <\/span>ad hoc and informal approach to allegations of abuse<\/span><\/a>. He also said overcrowding and lack of staff led to boys from violent and abusive homes being housed with hardened juvenile offenders.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Superintendent claims he contacted the Department of Health about the issue, but <\/span>he was knocked back due to budget constraints<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officers received \u201cMickey Mouse\u201d training, and allegations rarely got passed up the chain of command<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When Ashley submitted evidence to the Royal Commission, he said the staff were given <\/span>\u201cMickey Mouse\u201d training<\/span><\/a> – meaning many things were glossed over, including how to handle allegations of child sexual abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the training material, <\/span>sexual abuse was dubbed \u201cunnatural acts\u201d<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many staff members were also ex-police officers, ex-army, or simply imposing figures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ashley said the boys were too scared to report abuse, and even if they did, their allegations were rarely passed on to anyone.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It wouldn’t go anywhere. You had to walk on eggshells to do things,\u201d Ashley said.<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He also told the commissioners <\/span>supervision at night was \u201chorrifically\u201d inadequate<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One officer would keep an eye on the children through a slot in the door, but they couldn\u2019t turn on the light. Quite often, four or five boys would be housed in one room, and the officer couldn\u2019t see what was happening inside.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe boys may have been offenders but they’re human beings starting on the journey of life. I’m near the end of mine, but so help me God, I hope somebody puts the proverbial rocket under the department and makes them take responsibility for what they’ve undertaken and sworn to do, but never carried out.”<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

“You can’t rectify what was done in the past but you can damn we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Baltara Reception Centre<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"chain<\/p>\n

Image: <\/span>Pexels<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Baltara was established in 1968 on the same campus as Turana. It was a remand centre designed for younger boys aged 10 to 15 years old. It was also a reception centre for teenage wards of the state waiting to be placed in children\u2019s homes.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1991, Baltara was closed, and residents were moved into residential and reception units in <\/span>the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

A 10-year-old boy was assaulted by eight to 10 boys in his dormitory<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A survivor known only as BDA was admitted to Baltara in 1986 when he was just ten years old.<\/span><\/p>\n

One night, BDA was trying to sleep when <\/span>a group of eight to 10 boys surrounded his bed, holding their penises<\/span><\/a>. The boys were aged between 12 and 16 years old. They each approached his bed and forced him to perform oral sex.<\/span><\/p>\n

Within four months, BDA was returned home to his mother.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1993, BDA was sent back to Baltara. He\u2019d been either living on the streets or bouncing between non-government institutions. As soon as he arrived back at Baltara, the abuse started again.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was <\/span>physically and sexually assaulted by the other boys in his dorm<\/span><\/a>. On one occasion, two boys jumped into his bed and masturbated him or forced him to masturbate them.<\/span><\/p>\n

BDA left Baltara in 1994 when he was 16 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another survivor named William Clark experienced a similar situation. When he was 12 years old, <\/span>he was abused by an officer in the toilets and shower block<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The officer made William <\/span>masturbate him in private and in front of the other boys<\/span><\/a>. He would also rub his penis on William\u2019s buttocks and sometimes even ejaculated on William.<\/span><\/p>\n

William also told the Royal Commission the other boys would treat him the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

Winlaton Youth Training Centre<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Winlaton was established in Nunawading, Melbourne, in 1956. It operated as a youth training centre, a classification and assessment facility, a remand centre and a reception centre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Girls and women aged 14 to 21 years old were admitted to Winlaton, although girls younger than 14 were often admitted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The girls were admitted for having \u201csevere management problems\u201d while others persistently ran away from non-secure facilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1991, Winlaton was renamed the Nunawading Youth Residential Service and was redeveloped to be a mix-gendered facility. In 1993, it was relocated to the original Baltara site and became the Parkville Youth Residential Centre.<\/span><\/p>\n

The girls were strip-searched, dehumanised and degraded<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Apart from the ongoing sexual abuse, the girls were abused in other disturbing ways. For example, the girls were often strip-searched when they returned from leave or tried to escape.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Others were examined to see if they were virgins, despite telling the doctors they were. Their sexual history was also checked on a regular basis.<\/span><\/p>\n

The examinations were rarely explained, and sometimes they were done without the girls\u2019 consent. One of the workers told the Royal Commission the examinations were <\/span>not <\/span><\/i>mandatory and she would not consider them abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

The girls were also controlled through the provision of sanitary items. When they started menstruating, the girls would be given a single pad and had to show the officers it had been used before they were given another one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Triad therapy was introduced so girls could raise any problems in a group setting – discouraging them from reporting abuse<\/strong><\/h3>\n

An attempted \u201crehabilitation program\u201d discouraged girls from reporting the abuse they experienced at Winlaton. <\/span>It was called triad therapy<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Between three and 15 girls would get together under supervision and be forced to acknowledge or accept responsibility for their problems. Discussion points included:<\/span><\/p>\n