Australian governments increasingly violated the rights of children in the criminal justice system in 2024, Human Rights Watch said Friday in its World Report 2025.
The global rights group noted that authorities in Queensland and Western Australia detained children in facilities designed for adults, while the Northern Territory government lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 12 years to 10.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are drastically over-represented in youth justice systems across the country.
For the 540-page world report, in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries.
"The Australian government's treatment of children in its criminal justice system went from bad to worse in 2024," said Annabel Hennessy, Australia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
"These increasing violations are a blot on Australia's human rights reputation globally."
The group noted that on any given day, about 700 children ages 10 to 17 are detained or imprisoned across Australia.
HRW observed that First Nations children make up approximately 60 per cent of the prison population.
The organisation said most Australian states maintain an age of criminal responsibility below the UN-recommended minimum of at least 14 years, noting that in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia, children as young as 10 can be held criminally responsible and incarcerated.
Human Rights Watch noted that in August, the Victorian government reversed its commitment to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, instead introducing legislation to raise it only to 12. In October, the newly elected Northern Territory government lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10.
It also raised the alarm over the Northern Territory government's resumption of the use of spit hoods – head coverings – on children in detention, noting that Australia's human rights commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, said in 2023: "The use of spit hoods poses significant risks of injury and death."
In August, the National Children's Commissioner released a report highlighting that children in the criminal justice system were experiencing the "most egregious breaches of human rights" in Australia. The report called for a national response. It urged lawmakers to raise the age of criminal responsibility and implement a ban on solitary confinement for children. Human Rights Watch noted that these calls have gone unheeded.
HRW also observed that throughout 2024, authorities in Queensland continued to detain children in watch houses — concrete cells typically designed for short-term detention of adults.
"In September, an inspection report revealed poor conditions in the Cairns and Murgon watch houses, where children had spent weeks detained," the group said.
"The report highlighted overcrowding in the Cairns watch house and a complete absence of natural light in cells and common areas. In Murgon, children were deprived of fresh air, with no outdoor exercise available."
Human Rights Watch also condemned the notorious WA youth justice system.
"In Western Australia, authorities detained children in Unit 18, a wing of the maximum-security Casuarina Prison. In September, a 17-year-old boy died by suicide in Banksia Hill Detention Centre in Western Australia. This child had previously been held in Unit 18, where he reportedly endured 'routine solitary confinement'," they noted.
In May, a parliamentary inquiry report recommended establishing a Human Rights Act to ensure effective protection of human rights under Australian law.
"As the only Western democracy without a national human rights act or charter, the Australian government should promptly introduce a new national Human Rights Act," Human Rights Watch said.
HRW noted that following the unsuccessful Indigenous Voice referendum in 2023, the federal government has made "minimal strides" in advancing First Nations' rights.
"Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that his government would not move forward with establishing a Makarrata commission — a national body to facilitate truth-telling — despite prior budget allocations for its creation," the group said.
Human Rights Watch said the disparities in Australia's criminal justice system remain "enormous", with First Nations individuals "hugely overrepresented". The current imprisonment rate for First Nations adults is around 2,266 per 100,000, compared to 149 per 100,000 for non-Indigenous Australians.
Human Rights Watch also noted that Australia's cruel treatment of asylum seekers remains "a serious and persistent rights concern", with the federal government violating its international obligations by sending those who attempt to arrive by boat to offshore detention in Nauru.
