‘We feel like animals’: SA kids as young as ten detained before guilty verdict
A “troubling” majority of children at Adelaide’s Youth Training Centre are awaiting trial and not yet guilty, a new report reveals.
A staggering 98 per cent of children in Adelaide’s youth detention are on remand and not serving sentences, according to the state’s Guardian for Children and Young People annual report. Some were kept in remand for more than two weeks.
In 2025-26, 98 per cent of children admitted to the Adelaide Youth Training Centre – known as Kurlana Tapa – were “for matters yet to be determined by a court”, meaning they had not been found guilty of committing a criminal offence.
In the year ending June 30, 81 children under 14 were held at the detention centre.
One unnamed young person under 14 years old told the Guardian for Children and Young People they felt “like animals”.
"They couldn’t last an hour in the cell we spend every day in … we feel like animals."
Some of the under-14s were detained on multiple occasions and served stays of more than 14 days, the report said.
Acting Guardian of Children and Young People Sue Macdonald’s report was tabled in parliament this week.
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Macdonald said she remained “firmly of the view that the minimum age of criminal responsibility in South Australia should be raised from 10 to at least 14 years”.
“Detention at such a young age is developmentally inappropriate, can cause lasting harm, and is associated with an increased likelihood of future involvement in the criminal justice system,” her report said.
The overall rate of children admitted to the detention centre dropped last year compared to the year before, but the average daily population at the centre grew.
On an average day, there were 44 children in youth detention, and 28 were Aboriginal children. About 74 per cent of children in detention are boys.
For more than a decade, more than 40 South Australian advocacy organisations, including the Human Rights Law Centre and Change the Record, a group that advocates to end the over-incarceration of First Nations People, have called to raise the minimum age to 14 years “with no exceptions”.
Human Rights Watch Australia director Daniela Gavshon said 27 countries called on Australia to raise the age of criminal responsibility in a United Nations Universal Periodic Review report released in January.
“It’s so alarming that a country like Australia has such a low age for criminal responsibility,” Gavshon said.
The state government does not have a current policy position to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
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“The government continues to invest in early intervention and diversion programs, including $3 million over four years for the Child Diversion Program, which provides culturally safe bail accommodation and support for Aboriginal children aged 10 to 14,” a government spokesperson said.
“Decisions regarding bail and remand are made in accordance with the Bail Act 1985, with alternatives to detention available depending on individual circumstances.
“The government continues to work closely with SAPOL and other government agencies on responding to the drivers of youth crime.”
The Guardian’s report also recommended under-14s should receive “additional safeguards” including a “developmentally appropriate environment; access to age-appropriate educational, recreational and cultural activities; timely and culturally safe mental health support; and regular, meaningful contact with family members”.
The Adelaide Youth Training Centre was renamed the Kurlana Tapa in 2020 – meaning ‘New Path’ in Kaurna language – and received $22 million to redevelop the site to improve safety for incarcerated young people.
The redeveloped centre opened in 2024 and included new therapeutic accommodation, education facilities and an expanded visitors centre.
“When school is on in the centre, time goes so quick… when there’s nothing to do in the centre, time goes so slow,” one young person said.
Another said, “stop leaving us in our room so long…it’s a mental health thing bro”.
Other concerns raised in the reports included claims that children felt “bullied” and “shamed” by staff.
A government spokesperson told InDaily the Department of Human Services “works closely” with Macdonald and has facilitated 100 visits to Kurlana Tapa in 2025-26.
“The department has responded to the Visitor’s [Guardian] reports and continues to work through recommendations with her office and relevant agencies,” the spokesperson said.
“Kurlana Tapa is a secure youth justice facility with a strong focus on education, health, rehabilitation and recreation. Every young person attends an accredited secondary school, with individual learning plans and access to a range of educational, cultural, recreational and therapeutic programs.
“Young people follow structured daily routines incorporating education, meals, exercise, recreation and other activities, with arrangements varying between weekdays and weekends.
“The centre includes classrooms, a health centre, sensory room, basketball courts, an oval, outdoor recreational areas and facilities for music, media and cultural activities, including a youth-led podcast program.”
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