The Cook Government has unveiled a $147 million funding commitment to fully finance construction of a purpose-built youth detention facility in Perth, signalling a win for WA’s youth-justice system following years of pressure by the Law Society.
The funds are in addition to $11.5 million already allocated for detailed planning and early project works. The facility will sit alongside the Banksia Hill Detention Centre in Canning Vale, which holds boys and girls aged between 10 and 17 years old, and provides therapeutic support and a secure environment.
Importantly, it will replace Unit 18 at Casuarina Prison, which currently accommodates high-risk young people who cannot be safely housed at Banksia Hill. The Law Society called on government to close Unit 18 – which was not built with underage detainees in mind – as part of its 2025 State Election Campaign Better Access to Justice for All Western Australians.
A long time coming
In 2024, when funding was announced for the planning phase of a new facility, Law Society President Paula Wilkinson signalled that time was of the essence.
“The allocated funding is for design planning only and the chosen site still needs State and Federal environmental approvals,” Ms Wilkinson said at the time. “We have joined with other voices, including the Human Rights Commission of Australia, in calling for Unit 18 to be closed immediately but the framework for this new facility doesn’t offer any optimism of that happening any time soon. Long-term, it all sounds promising but the issue is the length of time it will take to be up and running. Also, the children at the new facility will have access to the same facilities as Banksia Hill which have proven to be inadequate.”
The announcement of funding for the next phase is a positive development, but the government needs to keep up the pace and ensure that Unit 18 is closed as a matter of urgency.
Minister for Corrective Services, the Hon Paul Papalia, noted that the funding comes on top of $268 million invested in youth detention since mid-2022 to improve facilities, services, staffing and outcomes. “This substantial investment will continue to improve outcomes for young people while building safe communities by reducing youth crime,” he said in an official statement last week.
Not a moment too soon
The announcement of the additional funding came just days before a group of detainees at Banksia Hill scaled a rooftop, removed parts of the metal roof, and threw projectiles at guards in a disturbance described by the Minister as “unacceptable”. The incident underlines the severity of the system’s current pressures.
“It shows the challenging task confronted by our youth custodial officers and reaffirms the need for a purpose-designed facility to house the state’s most high-risk youth, as announced by our government last week,” Papalia said.
The Commissioner for Children and Young People, Jacqueline McGowan-Jones, was reported by the ABC as saying there was a “desperate need” for a new facility. “We still have a lack of services available and individualised plans for each of the children and young people about how to de-escalate them when they’re distressed. [Banksia Hill] is not fit for purpose, we do need new infrastructure.”
The new funding is a tangible step forward in WA’s youth-justice infrastructure journey. But the timing of the rooftop protest at Banksia Hill serves as a stark reminder that building a facility takes time, and the system cannot wait.
The Law Society continues to campaign for the alignment of infrastructure investment with genuine reform, early intervention and culturally appropriate services to keep young people safe and supported rather than merely contained.
