Submission — 7 September 2010

Submission to Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian on seventeen year olds in Queensland prisons

Ms Elizabeth Fraser
Commissioner for Children and Young People and Child Guardian
PO Box 1517
BRISBANE CITY EAST QLD 4002

Dear Ms Fraser

SEVENTEEN YEAR OLDS IN QUEENSLAND'S ADULT PRISONS

Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on the policy position paper advocating for the removal of 17 year olds from Queensland adult prisons.

The Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland (ADCQ) supports the position paper and endorses the recommendations.

The issue of 17 year olds in prison was discussed in the ADCQ's 2006 Women in Prison report, in which the ADCQ made the following recommendations:

During its consultations for the report, ADCQ was made aware that 17 year old females were often placed in the protection unit, and this often led to a stigmatisation, which in turn resulted in the prisoner remaining in the protection unit for the entire period of her incarceration. The ADCQ was of the view that as the women in the protection unit were more restricted in their space, movement and activities, placing a 17 year old female prisoner in the 'prison within a prison' was prima facie direct discrimination on the basis of age.

As stated in the report, ADCQ was told that 17 year olds in prison often had no-one to look after them; they were often frightened and very vulnerable to self harm.

The Queensland Corrective Services Act 2006 provides that a prisoner who is under 18 years must be kept apart from other prisoners who are 18 years or older unless it is in the prisoner's best interests not to be kept apart (see section 18(2)).

This means that Queensland complies with article 37(3) of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (CROC) notwithstanding Australia's reservation to that article.

However, article 3 of CROC requires:

In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative bodies or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be the primary consideration.

The ADCQ argues that that recognising the vulnerability of young people and that many 17 year olds are still mentally and physically immature, it is in their best interests that they be dealt with under the juvenile justice system if they commit an offence.

Therefore, insofar as the Juvenile Justice Act 1992 requires 17 year olds to be accommodated in adult prisons and excludes them from the youth justice system and the Charter of Youth Justice Principles, the Act contravenes article 3 of CROC. Under CROC, this contravention will be attributable to the Commonwealth.

I trust this feedback is of benefit. Please let me know if the ADCQ can be of any further assistance.

Yours sincerely

NEROLI HOLMES
Acting Commissioner

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