Concerns planned boot camps may allow child abuse to go unreported

Welfare groups warn Qld's youth offender boot camps could conceal child abuse Fri 7 Aug 2026 at 5:25pm In short: Australia's welfare agencies say new laws would allow child abuse to be covered up at Queensland's youth offender boot camps. The Queensland government proposed bill allows camp operators to not report child harm if doing so would incriminate themselves. What's next? The state government aims to have the first boot camp open by September. Child welfare and rights agencies across Australia have condemned Queensland's proposed youth offender boot camps, delivering repeated warnings that children as young as 10 would be at risk of harm or abuse at the facilities. Compounding their concern is the fact that the Queensland government proposes to give boot camp operators a "reasonable excuse" under the legislation not to report any harm to a child, if doing so would tend to incriminate them. The Youth Justice (Circuit Breaker) Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced in the state parliament on June 25 and referred to the Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee for detailed consideration. The committee will table its report to parliament next week. Sue-Anne Hunter, the National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, said it was "outrageous" that harm to children in Queensland's proposed youth offender boot camps could go unreported. "This bill just does not make sense,"she said. "I'm just gobsmacked … the more I look into it." More than half of children in youth detention in Queensland are indigenous. "We've got these children that are out of the way," Ms Hunter said. "No-one has eyes on them. Anything can happen to them and nobody actually has to report [harm]." Under the government's Circuit Breaker Program, part of a pre-election commitment by the Crisafulli government, children who would otherwise be detained on bail or sentenced to youth detention would instead be sent by a court to one of two remote properties with a service provider for up to six months. Participants would be required to wear an electronic monitoring device and would be given basic education and hands-on learning in agriculture and livestock management. Minister for Youth Justice Laura Gerber has described the program as an "intensive rehabilitation program for repeat youth offenders, designed to drive down youth crime". In a statement, the Department of Youth Justice said it would oversee this program. "The Department will be responsible for oversight of the program, including monitoring provider performance, compliance, and outcomes," the spokesperson said. However, Ms Hunter said the children in these camps would have fewer safeguards than would apply in a youth detention centre. "We know what happens to children in closed institutions a long way from anywhere, where the child depends entirely on adults controlling their day and nobody independent is walking through the door unannounced,"she said. "We know it because of previous royal commissions in this country. And every one of those institutions was well intentioned on paper. "What we're saying is ... you can do whatever you want to these children that are hundreds of miles away from anybody, anywhere. "They don't have access to family, community, kin and culture — and they're there for six months." Child harm kept under wraps Legal Aid Queensland acting chief executive Nicky Davies said they were "deeply troubled" by protection against self-incrimination. "If a child suffers harm while participating in the provider's Circuit Breaker Program, it will almost always likely incriminate the reporting entity in some way," wrote acting chief executive Nicky Davies in her submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the legislation. All other organisations that care for children in the state, including child care centres, schools and hospitals, are required to report complaints to the Queensland Family and Child Commission under what is called the Reportable Conduct Scheme. This includes incidents of sexual abuse or exploitation, physical abuse, significant neglect, or emotional harm that causes significant harm to the child. Abuse will go unreported Queensland Family and Child Commission's principal commissioner Luke Twyford said he was confused how the program could allow bootcamp operators a "reasonable excuse" not to report harm. Mr Twyford said he was not satisfied that if children in remote bush camps were harmed, it would be reported to authorities. "I think the short answer is very clearly no," he said in an interview with 612 ABC Brisbane. Child safeguards rendered weak Meanwhile, the Office of the Public Guardian, Queensland, has cautioned it does not have the resources to guarantee the oversight of the remote bush camps under its community visitor program, as envisaged in the legislation. "Community visitor oversight is a critical safeguard for children at circuit breaker sites," noted public guardian Shayna Smith in her submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the legislation. However, she said the cost of visiting remote locations and the likely increase in complaints due to mandatory electronic monitoring and family separation meant, "without additional resources, OPG is concerned oversight may be diluted". Under the legislation, the chief executive of the Youth Justice Department could dismiss complaints about the treatment and welfare of children at remote boot camps if they were deemed to be "trivial or made only to cause annoyance". Ms Smith said dismissing grievances as "annoying" undermined a child's right to be heard. "At a minimum, written reasons for dismissing complaints should be provided … with review pathways available," she said. The bill also fails to set minimum standards of care for children, such as accommodation, food, health services, disability support, family contact, cultural support or reintegration planning, Ms Smith noted. Her submission also said the bill failed to specify necessary health and safety standards given the children would be required to participate in "hands-on" learning at isolated agricultural properties, she warned. However, in a statement, the Department of Youth Justice said providers would be held to legal standards. "Providers will be required to meet minimum standards and legislative obligations relating to the care, education, wellbeing, and support of young people," the spokesperson said. In late June, the Department of Youth Justice sought urgent interest from rural or remote working properties, "like cattle stations", to operate residential programs "in a remote secure 24/7 facility". There is no specific requirement in the legislation for the children to undergo a physical or mental health assessment prior to being recommended as suitable for placement at a remote bush camp, in order to tailor a program to meet their needs. According to the Legal Aid Queensland submission to the inquiry, of the children engaged with the youth justice system, about 44 per cent have a diagnosed or suspected mental health. A similar proportion likely have a disability, 55 per cent are First Nations and 48 per cent have been disengaged from education. It also highlighted that many had experienced housing insecurity. More than half had a history of trauma, having experienced or been impacted by domestic and family violence. Ms Hunter, a trained social worker, said this background made them vulnerable to being victimised by adults and other children, particularly as the remote camps would host boys and girls ranging in age from 10 to 17. "Overwhelmingly [these] children have already themselves been harmed," she said. "[No-one is asking] do they have autism, ADHD, fetal alcohol syndrome? "What looks like a child refusing to comply is often a child with a cognitive disability, a communication difference, a trauma response or some sort of impairment [displaying] a response they cannot control." She said the bill was not based on a therapeutic model. "It does not guarantee the child mental health care or a disability assessment, trauma-informed practice, alcohol and drug treatment or family therapy," Ms Hunter said. "Given who these children are, those things are not extras. They are the entire point. "Discipline and livestock handling are not [what] these kids need. "They are being set up to fail." A violation of human rights National Children's Commissioner Deb Tsorbaris said the scheme would breach Commonwealth and Queensland's own human rights law and must be abandoned. "It's unacceptable," she said, speaking on 612 ABC Brisbane. "And frankly, it will not work. These boot camps have been proven not to work." A similar program devised by then attorney general and current Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleije in 2013 was later scrapped by the Palaszczuk government in 2015 after an independent report by KPMG found 63.5 per cent of participating young people reoffended and the program was no more effective at stopping crime than standard youth detention. Expressions of interest have now closed for private providers to apply for a share of the $80 million budget to run the two boot camps. That document indicated the government wants 10 children sent to the first boot camp up by September 1, with the second camp operating by the second quarter of 2027. However, legislation to establish the boot camps has yet to pass the Queensland Parliament. Youth minister tight-lipped Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber has declined repeated requests for an interview to clarify whether the government will amend or abandon the scheme. The Queensland Human Rights Commission, which oversees the operation of the Queensland Human Rights Act, has not made a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the legislation. Nor has it made any specific, public comment about the Circuit Breaker Program.