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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-06-30 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:21): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: On 24 September 2019, the Marshall Liberal government announced it would ban the use of spit hoods at the Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre, previously known as the Adelaide Youth Training Centre. It followed a report by the Ombudsman that looked at the use of spit hoods at the centre in 2016 and 2017. We welcomed the report and accepted all three spit hood recommendations and immediately committed to banning their use by the end of June 2020.

Today, I am pleased to report that the acting chief executive of the Department of Human Services will prohibit the use of spit hoods from tomorrow, 1 July 2020. In this day and age, the use of spit hoods in our youth justice system is unacceptable and that is why we moved to ban them in favour of more appropriate ways that balance the rights and welfare of young people with the safety of staff.

As always, the safety and wellbeing of our young people and staff remains our priority. Since the Marshall Liberal government announced spit hoods would be banned, staff have been engaged and trained accordingly to ensure the transition has been safe for both staff and young people. I would like to acknowledge the improvements that youth justice staff have made and commend their commitment to continuous improvement, learning and review.

Our ongoing commitment to improve the system is highlighted in the recent release of our new 'Youth Justice State Plan 2020-2023: Young People Connected, Communities Protected', which outlines our strong plan to better support children and young people in the youth justice system. Broadly, our vision is to provide South Australian children and young people in the youth justice system and their families with better support programs and services to achieve positive outcomes. We remain committed to making significant improvements in our youth justice system and we will continuously review best practice for both young people and staff.

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