About youth detention in Queensland

If a youth is refused bail, they go to a youth remand centre or youth detention centre. When a court sentences a youth to time in custody, they go to a youth detention centre.

Youth remand centres and youth detention centres are secure places for people aged 10 to 18. They exist to:

  • protect the safety of the community
  • provide consequences for offending
  • prepare detained youths to live productively in the community.

Rules are set down when a youth enters the centre. Poor behaviour is monitored and responded to.

There is a structured routine that usually begins at 7am and ends by 7.45pm, when lights are out. All youths in the centre must follow the structured routine.

Movement of youths around the centre is closely monitored.

Current centres

Queensland currently has a youth remand centre and 3 youth detention centres.

Wacol Youth Remand Centre

Wacol Youth Remand Centre (WYRC) is located in Wacol (Brisbane). It has a bed capacity of 76 and houses youth from across the state, as required. While legally designated a youth detention centre, WYRC has a different operating model and infrastructure to our other centres.

WYRC is a temporary facility that will transfer back to the Queensland Police Service for its operational use in the future.

Cleveland Youth Detention Centre

Cleveland Youth Detention Centre (CYDC) is located in Townsville. It has a bed capacity of 112 and houses youth north of Rockhampton, as far north as Cape York and the Torres Strait, and up to Mount Isa and the Northern Territory border in the west. This area includes Townsville.

Many youth at CYDC are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. The school based at CYDC have implemented curriculum and practices that work with Aboriginal English to help them learn Standard Australian English. CYDC also has regular Elders visits to keep youth connected to culture.

Brisbane Youth Detention Centre

Brisbane Youth Detention Centre (BYDC) is located in Wacol (Brisbane). It has a bed capacity of 162 and a catchment south of Rockhampton and out to the Northern Territory border.

BYDC has built strong connections with several local community organisations and churches who help support youth who are transitioning back to the Brisbane and local communities.

West Moreton Youth Detention Centre

West Moreton Youth Detention Centre (WMYDC) is located in Wacol (Brisbane) next to BYDC. It has a bed capacity of 32.  The centre focuses on working:

  • inside-out – keeping an outward focus for youths and building community contacts for them from the point of entry
  • outside-in – bringing the community into the centre to work with youths.

Detention centre programs

Our youth detention centres are dedicated to rehabilitating youth and improving their life outcomes. We provide a range of intervention programs and services to support their development during their time in detention.

Structured programs delivered inside the youth detention centre include:

  • schooling, vocational education and training (run by the Department of Education)
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural programs
  • life skills programs
  • speech and language programs
  • health programs (run by Queensland Health), including mental health and wellbeing, group therapy programs, and problematic substance use intervention
  • sport, recreation and fitness programs
  • programs and supports to help change behaviour.

Read our youth detention centre services road map (PDF, 1.9MB) to learn more about what programs a youth may undertake during their time in detention.

Detention centre staff

There is a high ratio of youth detention centre staff to youth in our centres.

Detention centre staff are trained to work with youth, helping them develop their independence in a healthy way and preparing them for adulthood and employment.

Staff are employed by the Queensland Government and are committed to providing a safe environment for youth in detention and everyone else who enters the centre.

Education

A modified school year for youth in youth detention centres has been in place since the beginning of 2022. Each youth detention centre has a school and youth attend classes for 48 weeks a year.

New infrastructure

The Queensland Government has committed to build 2 new therapeutic youth detention centres while also looking at a range of interim options to increase capacity. One of the new centres will be located in Woodford (South East Queensland).

Operating model

The youth detention operating model (PDF, 7.2MB) (DOCX) (the operating model) explains how Queensland’s youth detention centres provide safe, structured and rehabilitative services for youth in detention.

It outlines:

  • how the centres operate
  • how services are delivered
  • how the workforce is organised.

Overview of the youth detention operating model (PDF, 337KB) (DOCX).

The operating model ensures staff work in ways that support the wellbeing, culture, and safety of youth in all parts of their daily routine and aligns with key reforms, including Detention with Purpose and Staying on Track. These initiatives focus on rehabilitation, improving safety and helping youth return to the community with better skills and support.

The operating model is supported by a set of core documents, including:

This is demonstrated visually in our youth detention policy and procedure framework (DOCX, 468KB) (PDF, 477KB).

A centralised team is responsible for:

  • practice reform, support, and development
  • maintenance and publishing of youth detention policies and procedures
  • maintenance and publishing of the youth detention centre operations manual, related appendices, and other documents.

To ensure the operating model, policies, and procedures remain relevant and accurate, this team works with youth detention centre staff and other stakeholders, and considers relevant findings and recommendations made by oversight agencies.

There is also a central practice support consultative committee that oversees all youth detention issues across the state, and reports to an agency consultative committee.

Together, these elements ensure a clear and consistent approach to how youth detention centres function. It supports safe, structured, and rehabilitative environments where youth are given the opportunities they need to build skills and prepare for a positive return to the community.

More information

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