Young people and going to court

Official visitors are appointed members of the community who visit Northern Territory (NT) youth detention centres. Their role is to provide independent assessments of the treatment and conditions of young people.

They are appointed by the minister responsible for youth justice and are independent from the youth justice system and government departments.

Appointment

An official visitor is appointed by the minister for 3 years to:

• Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre
• Don Dale Youth Detention Centre.

Responsibilities

Official visitors do all of the following:

• visit a youth detention centre once a month
• meet with youth detainees to identify, and where possible, address concerns
• provide a report about the visit in writing to the minister within 2 weeks of each visit
• consider the Youth Justice Act 2005 and regulations when preparing reports.

They must not interfere with or instruct on how young people are controlled or managed.

Contact

For more information, contact Youth Justice Operations by emailing tfhc.youthjusticeunit@nt.gov.au.