Nationwide protests on Saturday called by Arrernte Elders and 'Close Don Dale' grandmothers demanded the closure of the Northern Territory's notorious Don Dale Youth Detention Centre and the abolition of youth prisons.

The rallies were called to coincide with the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment visit to Australia, which was suspended on Sunday after the New South Wales and Queensland governments blocked the delegation's access to facilities including prisons.

In August freedom of information documents revealed that the Northern Territory government was breaching its own independent monitoring policy at Don Dale.

'Close Don Dale' activists have kept the children's prison in the spotlight this year amid a steep rise in detainees, overcrowding, understaffing and rates of self-harm, and extended periods of lockdown.

The group has rallied outside the prison every Friday since Christmas 2021 to demand its closure and a petition initiated by recording artist Toni Childs has attracted more than 20,000 signatures.

Similar dire conditions have been reported in Western Australia's Banksia Hill Detention Centre and the Ashley Youth Detention Centre in Tasmania.

Close Don Dale advocate Josie Crawshaw described the prison as a symptom of the fundamental disadvantage our children face in this racist colony.

"Institutionalising children will not reduce crime. They are in fact creating the criminals they seek to imprison. We cannot trust the government to reform this system. It is broken by design," she said.

Nationwide Aboriginal children are disproportionately represented in youth detention. Most are held on remand (not sentenced) and many have undiagnosed disabilities.

Children from remote areas, far more likely to be in detention than children from major cities, are detained thousands of kilometres from community, Culture and Country.

First Nations leaders and organisations including Close Don Dale have called for restorative programs and services that are led and controlled by local Aboriginal communities.

Close Don Dale's Natalie Hunter said community leadership is the key.

"We know the solutions to these problems. Give funding for Aboriginal issues to Aboriginal organisations. Invest in community-led programs," she said.

Donna Hunter said the use of lockdowns and other conditions in youth detention was doing permanent damage to children.

"We're locking them up for 23 hours a day in a two-by-three cell—and we expect them to come out good kids? That will traumatise them forever," she said.

"This is not what we want as parents, as grandparents, or as a community."

Minister for Territory Families Kate Worden, who holds the youth justice portfolio, said the government is building a new youth detention centre which was "designed through intensive stakeholder engagement".

"When completed in 2023, it will be the most progressive youth justice infrastructure in Australia - and the Don Dale Detention Centre will be shut," she said.

"A new culturally appropriate model of care has also been co-designed with advocates, families, stakeholders and service providers to inform the way we support young people. This model of care is now complete and is being rolled out progressively in youth justice centres across the Northern Territory.

"The Territory Government is breaking the cycle of youth crime through early intervention, prevention and diversion first and foremost."

The Minister noted that the NT is the first jurisdiction in Australia to have introduced the legislation to raise the age of criminal responsibility from ten to 12 years old. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends it be raised to 14.

Don Dale's on-site health service is provided by Danila Dilba Aboriginal Health Service.

The Minister's office said young people have access to a range of health care services, along with a specialist assessment and treatment services team including psychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers, alcohol and other drug officers, and youth workers.