Remand centre built for adults to remain open to children over capacity concerns

A police watch house designed for adults should continue holding Queensland children due to concerns over capacity at youth detention centres under proposed breach bail, go to jail laws, an independent watchdog says.

Queensland detention services inspector Anthony Reilly made the finding in his report into the Wacol Youth Remand Centre. 

The centre, originally built for adults, opened in April last year to hold children aged 10 to 18 as a safer alternative to a police watch house while they wait for a room at one of Queensland's three youth detention centres.

The inspector noted in the report the draft consultation had recommended the "institutionalised" centre cease holding children when the state's fourth youth detention centre at Woodford opens.

However, Mr Reilly said the impact of the proposed laws may mean the state's youth detention centres "do not have sufficient capacity".

"As a consequence, it is possible that children will need to be detained in large numbers and for lengthy periods in watch houses," he said. 

Mr Reilly, who is also the state's ombudsman, said in that scenario it would therefore be "beneficial" to continue to accommodate children at the remand centre.

"While we do not consider the centre to be a suitable facility for the detention of children, we consider it to be more suitable than detention in police watch houses," the report states.

When questioned, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said his government had increased capacity by 20 per cent and would continue to invest in more facilities, early intervention and rehabilitation.

"But faced with the choice of a few extra people in jail and a few less people in your lounge room, I'm on the side of Queensland victims, and I'm choosing the latter," he said.

"We're working across the system, and that's my commitment to people. We're doing what we said we're going to do."

Opposition Leader Steven Miles said the need to keep the centre open showed the "government that has refused to plan for the consequences of their own decisions".

Mr Reilly noted while changes to the centre had been made to help accommodate children, its infrastructure is "institutional" and lacks the space, privacy and natural light children need.

The report made 13 recommendations to the department, including making efforts to soften the centre's environment.

In response, the Department of Youth Justice and Victim Support said it would continue to explore ways to "soften" the environment and prioritise allowing children to access programs and outdoor facilities at other youth detention centres.

In the 12 months to June 20, the average number of children at the centre each day was 32, however, the report states the number has "significantly increased" to 54 as of August 2026.

The inspection report found the increased capacity to hold children is being "diminished" as the number being detained rises.

The average length of a child's stay was 7.1 days, according to data from the first 11 months of the centre.

However, the inspectors found not all children are "moved quickly".

Concerns over child's 49-day stay

The report also found children identified as being high-risk are being transferred from youth detention centres to the remand centre and, in some cases, staying for more than a month.

Between April 2025 and March this year, 20 children were returned to the centre as a strategy to manage high-risk and complex behaviours, the report states.

This included one child who was held at the centre for a total of 49 days, before being returned to the youth detention centre where they were previously housed.

"We found no records that show the decision-making process or risk assessments that informed the child's continued stay at the centre," the report states.

Similarly, the inspector found no explanation of the decision-making process or risk assessments that informed the child's return to the detention centre.

In response to the inspector's recommendation, the Department of Youth Justice and Victim Support said it had strengthened governance and oversight for "risk-based transfers" to the centre.

The ombudsman acknowledged children received better support in the centre than they would in a police watch house.

Mr Crisafulli said the government would "keep reducing the amount of time that a child spends in a watch house", and wanted to try "early intervention to stop them going there in the first place".

"But for those that don't learn, that don't understand there are consequences for actions."