Changes to the Northern Territory's youth justice laws, which would give police the power to charge, question and detain young people for up to 48 hours without a legal guardian present, will "expose children to unnecessary and harmful interactions with police", according to a leading Aboriginal legal service.
Proposed amendments to the Youth Justice Act — introduced to parliament last week by Corrections Minister Gerard Maley — would allow young people charged with an offence to be held in police watch houses for up to 48 hours.
The changes would also allow police to interview children if they have knowledge "in relation to an offence" and question them without an adult or legal guardian present if it is "in relation to a serious and urgent matter concerning public safety".
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In response, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) expressed concern the proposed laws would further expand young people's contact with police and police watch houses.
CEO Ben Grimes said there was a lack of clarity around what constitutes a "serious and urgent" matter relating to public safety.
"[It] creates a real risk that this power will be used too broadly and expose children to unnecessary and harmful interactions with police and police stations, even when the child has not committed a crime and is not accused of committing a crime," he said.
"I think any parent would be concerned at the thought of police holding and questioning their child without the parent's knowledge. This type of interaction with police can be highly traumatising for a child."
He said children could be interviewed alone, even when they may not fully understand what is happening.
Safeguards — including access to legal advice and a support person during interviews with police about serious offences — exist because "children are more vulnerable than adults when dealing with police," Mr Grimes said.
"These amendments remove those safeguards."
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Aboriginal and legal groups have long-criticised the government for failing to consult Indigenous bodies and for introducing laws they argue breach the Closing the Gap agreement.
Speaking in Darwin this week, Senator Lidia Thorpe said: "It's the most racist government I've seen in my lifetime."
"This is not youth justice," she argued. "We've got to change the name. Where's the justice in youth justice?
"All of these changes are intentionally harming us. Deliberately inflicting...conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction — in whole or in part — is another one of the five acts of genocide."
Watch houses
NAAJA also criticised the use of watch houses, where children as young as 10 can be detained in the same facilities as adults.
Northern Territory Department of Corrections data shows the youth detention rate in the Territory has doubled over the past year, alongside a sharp rise in the number of children and teenagers held in police watch houses.
In its submission to the Senate youth justice inquiry, NAAJA stated: "Almost 400 Aboriginal young people were held in NT police watch houses over a six-month period in 2025, despite the widely reported human rights issues concerning the operation of these facilities".
Most were held on remand, with the average remand period reaching 56 days. Many were never convicted. One child — aged between 10 and 14 — spent more than 238 days on remand before the charges were ultimately dismissed.
An ombudsman's report into watch houses last year argued "no prisoner, regardless of their offence, should be held in such conditions".
"We already know that conditions inside watch houses in the Northern Territory are not up to standard and this places more children in harm's way," Mr Grimes said.
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Immunity concerns
Mr Grimes said the legislation would also expand police immunity provisions, arguing there was "no compelling reason to allow police to act to a lower standard than anyone else".
He argued the changes reflected a broader pattern from the CLP government since it was elected in 2024.
"These changes continue the problematic pattern we have seen from this NT Government," he said.
"They are reducing transparency and accountability for government departments at the same time as lowering the acceptable standards for how we treat and interact with vulnerable people."
