Watch Houses Are No Place for Children
The Northern Territory Government has passed sweeping new laws that expand police powers when it comes to interviewing children and allow police to hold children in watch houses for up to 48 hours after a judge has remanded them. The Central Australian Youth Justice (CAYJ) Coalition says the changes strip away long-standing protections for the Territory’s most vulnerable children.
The Youth Justice and Criminal Code Amendment Bill 2026 passed NT Parliament on 22 July 2026. These changes include:
· Detaining children in police watch houses for up to 48 hours after being remanded by a judge
· Entrenching the use of the Alice Springs Intake and Transfer Facility
· Introducing “urgent protected interviews”, in which police may interview a child suspected of having knowledge of a crime
· Creating circumstances in which police can now interview a child without a parent, guardian, lawyer or other responsible adult present
The Bill expands police interview powers, while diminishing longstanding safeguards that exist to protect children’s rights, wellbeing, and treatment appropriate to their age and development.
“CAYJ is concerned that police interviewing children under ‘urgent’ circumstances, or without adult supervision, means those children may not be able to properly exercise their right to silence.” said CAYJ Co-Chair Lewis Gould-Fensom. “That’s a cornerstone of our justice system.”
In November 2025, the NT Ombudsman found people held in watch houses were kept in conditions that were “unreasonable and oppressive”. NT Police told the Ombudsman their officers are “trained primarily in frontline policing, not long-term custodial management”, and that the situation placed “extraordinary pressure” on their staff.
“This Bill means children can now be held longer in the same watch houses the Ombudsman condemned. If these facilities are unfit for adults, they are no place for children,” Mr. Gould-Fensom said.
From the watch house, children are being moved to the Alice Springs Intake and Transfer Facility (ASITF). Based inside the now-defunct Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre, this facility offers no education or programs. Many Central Australian children report being held in effective isolation while in the ASITF, and the new legislation places no limit on how long a child can be held there.
CAYJ warns these changes will leave children witness to distressing situations and increase their exposure to trauma while inside the justice system. A 2025 study completed by the University of New South Wales has shown that young people incarcerated during their adolescence were five times more likely to be incarcerated as an adult, compared to those who never been in custody. First Nations children, who made up more than 90 per cent of children held in NT watch houses in 2025, will be hit hardest by these changes.
CAYJ is calling on the NT Government to pursue policy that protects children, rather than placing them in unsafe situations that risk further traumatising experiences:
- Reduce the amount of time that children can be detained in police watch houses to an absolute minimum
- Place limits on how long children can be held at the ASITF, which is not providing educational or recreational programs
- Rebuild diversion programs in Central Australia which have been found to be effective in reducing reoffending
- Fund trauma-informed interventions for at-risk youth in Central Australia
CAYJ affirms that Territory children do not belong in adult watch houses.