Visiting and contacting a young person in detention

We encourage you to visit a young person in a detention centre. Regular visits from family and friends help young people reintegrate with the community once they are released.

Our youth detention centres are located:

  • Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, 99 Wolston Park Road, Wacol
  • Cleveland Youth Detention Centre, 27–79 Old Common Road, Belgian Gardens, Townsville
  • West Moreton Youth Detention Centre, 99 Wolston Park Road, Wacol.

Your visit will be in the ‘visits centre’ of the detention centre.

You must arrange your visit in advance.

  • View the visiting times for Brisbane Youth Detention Centre and Cleveland Youth Detention Centre.

    Contact West Moreton Youth Detention Centre for details of their visiting times.

  • To arrange a visit, call the detention centre’s visits centre:

    Each centre has set visiting times, but you can make special arrangements if you can’t visit during these hours.

    If you live a long way from the centre, centre staff can arrange for you to have a virtual visit with a young person via video conference.

  • A young person has the right to stay in contact with people who are important to them. This includes having visitors while they are in detention.

    We want to help a young person restore and strengthen their contact with their family, community and other important people in their life while in detention.

    Everyone has a role to play and together we can support young people to make positive changes.

    Young people in detention can receive visits from important people in their life. Each young person's situation will be different, but this may include people such as:

    • family
    • friends
    • important members of their community such as Elders
    • religious visitors and chaplains
    • community groups
    • lawyers
    • Youth Justice or Child Safety caseworkers
    • official visitors
    • non-government agencies

    Family visitors

    We encourage you to visit a young person in a detention centre. Regular visits help young people reintegrate with the community when they are released.

    When visiting a youth detention centre, you cannot bring:

    • food for the young person
    • gifts
    • banned items such as cigarettes or drugs

    At Brisbane Youth Detention Centre and West Moreton Youth Detention Centre, you can bring coins to use in the visits centre vending machines. Food you buy from the vending machines can be shared with the young person only while they are in the visits centre. You may take the leftover food with you when you leave.

    If you bring money for a young person, or transfer money for them into the trust account, we hold it for them in the trust account and give it to them when they are released.

    If you are planning a special visit, like a birthday or a long-distance visit, you can ask the centre if they can provide special food such as a barbecue or cake for the visit. Talk to staff when you book your visit.

    If you live a long way from the centre, staff can arrange for you to have a virtual visit with a young person through a video conference.

    Friends and community visitors

    Visits by friends and members of their community can help to support a young person while they are in detention and when they return home.

    Professional visitors

    A young person’s lawyer can visit them at the detention centre.

    Professional visitors cannot buy items from the vending machines for young people.

  • Our highest priorities are making sure that:

    • young people, staff and visitors are safe
    • the centre is secure

    When entering a centre, you must:

    • show proof of identification at each visit
    • enter through the metal detector
    • give us any items you want to bring in to be x-rayed

    Not all items are allowed into a youth detention centre. Please check the list of prohibited and restricted items.

    We will give you a locker to store your personal belongings (e.g. keys, phone and handbag) while you visit a young person.

    You will not be allowed into the centre if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

    You must not use loud or abusive language. We may end your visit if you do.

    We use body-worn cameras and CCTV at our detention centres. Audio and video footage is recorded. Our staff will warn you before they press record on a body-worn camera if it is safe to do so.

    Only certain staff are allowed to watch the video. It will only be shared with other people or organisations if the law tells us to. Body-worn camera and CCTV recordings may be used as evidence.

  • Youth detention centres have rules about what you can wear when you visit. You can’t wear:

    • clothing that has obscene or discriminatory words on it
    • shirts without sleeves, including tank tops and singlets
    • short skirts or short shorts
    • very tight clothing
    • clothing that you can see through
    • clothing that is revealing
    • you must wear closed-in shoes at all times, stiletto heels are not allowed
    • you may wear minimal jewellery.

  • Items not allowed in youth detention centres

    • weapons and firearms
    • explosives and ammunition
    • knives, pocketknives, and multi tools
    • other cutting/sharp-edged item or material
    • metal cutlery, utensils, and scissors
    • rope/cord
    • non-prescribed or illegal drugs or drug-related items
    • cigarettes
    • lighters and matches
    • keys
    • alcohol or flammable substances
    • aerosol sprays (non-medication)
    • pornographic material

    Restricted items

    • mobile telephones
    • laptop computers/tablets
    • cameras or equipment with built-in cameras
    • recording equipment
    • DVDs, CDs, and video cassettes
    • USB devices and other electronic storage media
    • hand luggage or briefcases
    • reusable containers larger than 750ml

Phone calls

You can speak to a young person on the phone while they are in detention. However, a young person must call you. You won’t be able to call them unless it’s an emergency.

If you have to tell a young person something that may upset them, let the staff know so they can support the young person.

A young person is allowed 120 minutes of call time each week to talk to their family and friends. They can talk for up to 10 minutes at a time.

They can also speak to their lawyer or caseworker, or the community visitor. These calls have no time limit and do not count towards their 120 minutes.

Letters

You can send as many letters to a young person as you like. Staff at the centre check all letters before young people receive them. Staff also check any letters that a young person sends to you. Staff will not check letters to or from a young person’s lawyer.

Send your letters to:

Brisbane Youth Detention Centre
PO Box 450
ARCHERFIELD BC QLD 4108

Cleveland Youth Detention Centre
27-79 Old Common Road
BELGIAN GARDENS QLD 4810

West Moreton Youth Detention Centre
PO Box 450
ARCHERFIELD BC QLD 4108

Your privacy

If you agree to being on a young person’s personal visits list and/or a young person’s call list, your approval will apply to the young person’s current stay in youth detention as well as any future stays. You should contact the youth detention centre if you want to withdraw your approval.

We will keep a record of:

  • your name
  • your telephone number
  • the date and time of your visit with a young person
  • how long your visit goes for.

This is in line with the Youth Justice Act 1992 (Qld).

CCTV and body worn cameras are used in youth detention centres. Audio and video footage is recorded.

We will manage your personal information in line with the:

You can read more about our commitment to privacy on our privacy page.

More information

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Last reviewed:27 November 2024

Last modified:27 November 2024

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence