Visiting a young person in detention

You can visit a young person in youth detention.

Our youth detention centres are:

• Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, 99 Wolston Park Road, Wacol
• Cleveland Youth Detention Centre, 27–79 Old Common Road, Belgian Gardens, Townsville
• West Moreton Youth Detention Centre, 99 Wolston Park Road, Wacol.

Your visit will be in a special part of the youth detention centre called the visits centre.

You must arrange your visit in advance.

When you can visit

View the visiting times for Brisbane Youth Detention Centre and Cleveland Youth Detention Centre.

Contact West Moreton Youth Detention Centre for details of their visiting times.

Who can visit

Your child has the right to stay in contact with people who are important to them. This includes having visitors while they are in detention.

We support this and want to help your child restore and strengthen their contact with their family, community and other important people in their life.

Everyone has a role to play and together we can support young people to make positive changes.

Young people in detention can receive visits from important people in their life. Each young person's situation will be different, but this may include people such as:

• family
• friends
• important members of their community like Elders
• religious visitors and chaplains
• community groups
• lawyers
• Youth Justice or Child Safety caseworkers
• official visitors
• non-government agencies.

Family visitors

We encourage you to visit your child in a detention centre. Regular visits help young people reintegrate with the community when they’re released.

When visiting a youth detention centre, you can’t bring:

• food for your child
• gifts
• banned items like cigarettes or drugs.

At the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, you can bring coins to use in the visits centre vending machines. Food you buy from the vending machines can be shared with your child only while they are in the visits centre. You may take the leftover food with you when you leave.

If you bring money for your child, or transfer money for them into the trust account, we hold it for them in the trust account and give it to them when they’re released.

If you are planning a special visit, like a birthday or a long-distance visit, you can ask the centre if they can provide special food such as a barbecue or cake for the visit. Talk to staff when you book your visit.

If you live a long way from the centre, centre staff can arrange for you to have a virtual visit with your child through video conference.

Friends and community visitors

Visits by friends and members of their community can help to support your child while they are in detention and when they return home.

Professional visitors

Your child’s lawyer can visit them at the detention centre.

Professional visitors can’t buy items from the vending machines for young people.

Safety and security

Our highest priorities are making sure that:

• young people, staff and visitors are safe
• the centre is secure.

When entering a centre you must:

• show proof of identification at each visit
• enter through the metal detector
• give us any items you want to bring in to be x-rayed.

Not all items are allowed into a youth detention centre. Please check the list of prohibited and restricted items.

We will give you a locker to store your personal belongings (e.g. keys, phone and handbag) while you visit your child.

You will not be allowed into the centre if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

You must not use loud and abusive language. We may end your visit if you do.

We use body-worn cameras and CCTV at our detention centres. Audio and video footage is recorded. Our staff will warn you before they press record on a body-worn camera if it is safe to do so.

Only certain staff are allowed to watch the video. It will only be shared with other people or organisations if the law tells us to. Body-worn camera and CCTV recordings may be used as evidence.

What to wear

Youth detention centres have rules about what you can wear when you visit. You can’t wear:

• clothing that has obscene or discriminatory words on it
• shirts without sleeves, including tank tops and singlets
• short skirts or short shorts
• very tight clothing
• clothing that you can see through
• clothing that is revealing.

You must wear closed-in shoes at all times. Stiletto heels are not allowed.

You may wear minimal jewellery.

How to arrange a visit

To arrange a visit, call the detention centre’s visits centre:

• Brisbane Youth Detention Centre (07) 3021 0720
• Cleveland Youth Detention Centre (07) 4421 5204
• West Moreton Youth Detention Centre (07) 3021 0900 (and follow the prompts).

Each centre has set visiting times, but you can make special arrangements if you can’t visit during these hours.

Prohibited and restricted items

Items not allowed in youth detention centres

• weapons/firearms
• explosives/ammunition
• knives / pocketknives / multi tools
• other cutting/sharp-edged item or material
• metal cutlery / utensils / scissors
• rope/cord
• non-prescribed or illegal drugs or drug-related items
• cigarettes
• lighters/matches
• keys
• alcohol or flammable substances
• aerosol sprays (non-medication)
• pornographic material

Restricted items

• mobile telephones
• laptop computers/tablets
• cameras or equipment with built-in cameras
• recording equipment
• DVDs, CDs and video cassettes
• USB devices and other electronic storage media
• hand luggage or briefcases
• reusable containers larger than 750ml

Your privacy

If you agree to being on a young person’s personal visits list, your approval will apply to the young person’s current stay in youth detention as well as any future stays. You should contact the youth detention centre if you want to withdraw your approval.

We will keep a record of:

• your name
• your telephone number
• the date and time of your visit with a young person
• how long your visit goes for.

This is in line with the Youth Justice Act 1992.

CCTV and body worn cameras are used in youth detention centres. Audio and video footage is recorded.

We will manage your personal information will be managed in line with the:

• Youth Justice Act 1992
• Information Privacy Act 2009.

You can read more about our commitment to privacy on our privacy page.

More information

Learn about:

• what rights your child has in detention
• what happens in detention
• the people who are here to help your child.