More than 100 former detainees of a Tasmanian youth detention centre are set to receive a multi-million dollar state government payout after allegedly being abused in state care.
The 129 claimants were detained at the notorious Ashley Youth Detention Centre (AYDC) between 1960 and 2023.
According to the class action's legal representatives, Angela Sdrinis Legal, juveniles detained at AYDC were stripsearched, subjected to isolation and beatings as punishment and encouraged to attack each other by staff.
Confirmed by Justice Stephen Estcourt in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on Monday, the Tasmanian Government has agreed to pay a $75 million settlement in what lawyer Angela Sdrinis said was a result of years of "ignoring reviews and recommendations" by the government.
"Today, the state is paying the price for these failings," Ms Sdrinis said on Monday.
"While nothing can take away the trauma of child abuse and the deep sense of betrayal these men and women experienced when they were children detained in the AYDC, it is another step in the process of healing."
Tasmania, similar to other states, disproportionally detains Indigenous youth.
According to 2022-23 Closing the Gap data, Tasmania detains 7.3 per 10,000 of its Indigenous youth aged 10-17. In comparison, non-Indigenous Tasmanian youth are detained at a far lower rate - 1.9 per 10,000.
National Indigenous Times understands multiple Indigenous children are currently detained at AYDC.
Following the settlement, Tasmanian Attorney General Guy Barnett said the government remained "deeply committed" to better protecting children and young people and ensuring their access to justice.
"The government was pro-active in progressing the settlement and co-operated with counsel for the plaintiffs so that this complex matter could be resolved during mediation in a respectful and trauma-informed way," Mr Barnett said.
"We have heard the stories, and we acknowledge the lasting and negative impact that abuse has on the lives of children, young people and their families."
Released in September 2023, the final report of a state inquiry into child sexual abuse in government institutions deemed the Ashley Youth Detention Centre a "live" risk to children while calling for its closure by July 2026.
Tasmanian Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff welcomed the settlement's approval, saying successive governments had failed in their duty to protect children at AYDC.
"Unlike other similar cases of institutional abuse, this result isn't just about the past - it's about the present too," Ms Woodruff said.
The party called on the government to close the centre.
"There is still a live and current risk of abuse occurring at Ashley, with frequent violations of the human rights of children at the centre."
- with AAP
