A $100 million maximum security youth detention centre, touted as the best in the world, will be built near the troubled Banksia Hill facility in Perth.
West Australian Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia said the centre would be built as fast as possible and designed specifically for the "challenging cohort".
Mr Papalia said it would be “the best facility of its kind in the world”.
It will replace the Unit 18 youth detention facility at Casuarina Prison, and accommodate high-risk young people who cannot be safely housed at Banksia Hill.
“There is no alternative,” Mr Papalia said.
“You cannot shut Unit 18 and put these juveniles back into Banksia Hill. They will disrupt everybody. They will hurt people ... and they'll go back into the community more dangerous and threatening.”
The state government has allocated $11.5 million to finalise planning and design of the facility, which will have up to 30 beds.
A 17-year-old Indigenous teenager died at the Banskia Hill Detention Centre in August, and 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd died after self-harming in his cell at Unit 18 in October 2023.
Banksia Hill has also been the site of numerous riots in recent years, including an incident in May 2023 that lasted more than 12 hours and involved 47 detainees, causing an estimated $30 million damage.
Mr Papalia said safety would be a priority in the design of the new centre.
“For example, I anticipate you could have really high ceilings that are not able to be breached," he said.
"You would have embedded infrastructure inside the cell itself, so that there's nothing extending into the cell that can be prised off the wall or off the floor and turned into a weapon or another tool."
Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce said it was the first opportunity in 30 years to purposely build something for WA’s youth.
“The young people in our care do have complex needs and the opportunity to move them across facilities now and yet share the good resources and the opportunities and programs that we have at Banksia Hill means we can start tailoring services to where we all want to be,” he said.
Along with Department of Justice Aboriginal staff, the government has engaged an Indigenous-owned consultancy to develop an Aboriginal engagement strategy for the project.
The chosen site, adjacent to Banksia Hill’s southwest boundary, is subject to state and federal environmental approvals, and Banksia Hill’s car park would be moved to allow for construction.
WA's public sector union welcomed the announcement and said it showed there was a “culture reset” underway in the system.
“The union recognises there is more to do to not only make the system safer for young people and staff but also to support genuine rehabilitation in and out of custodial environments,” acting branch assistant secretary Ness Brett said.
