The Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services (the Office) is an independent statutory agency responsible for the inspection of adult prisons, youth detention centres, court custody centres and prescribed lock-ups. Under the Inspector of Custodial Services Act 2003 the Office is required to inspect each custodial facility and report to Parliament at least once every three years.

Inspections present an opportunity to test the performance of custodial facilities at regular intervals and, along with other functions of the Office, helps maintain monitoring and oversight over Western Australia’s custodial estate.

Standards have long provided the Office with a broad framework for assessing custodial facility performance during inspections. They are informed by international treaties and guidelines and other relevant materials, such as the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and the National Standards for Youth Justice in Australia.

As part of the Office’s ongoing efforts to modernise and enhance the useability of its standards, a revised version of the Inspection Standards for Youth Custodial Facilities (the Youth Standards) has been developed.

This revision brings our Youth Standards into alignment with the structure of our recently revised Inspection Standards for Adult Custodial Facilities as part of our inspection methodology reforms.

Key changes to the Youth Standards include:

• A redesigned structure featuring 34 high-level standards across eight core themes.
• Clear outcomes that indicate how a facility can demonstrate it meets each standard.
• A range of measures that illustrate how outcomes may be achieved—without limiting other valid approaches.
• Suggested sources of evidence to support outcome verification.
• Cohort-specific outcomes for vulnerable groups, such as:
  • First Nations young peoples
  • Young women and girls
  • Trans, gender diverse, and intersex people
  • Young people with disability.

It is our intention to use the Youth Standards in the upcoming inspection of Banksia Hill Detention Centre and the Unit 18 Juvenile Security Facility in November 2026.

Community are encouraged to review the draft and provide feedback by Tuesday, 30 June 2026 by emailing corporate@oics.wa.gov.au.