A violent attack at the ACT's youth detention centre has sparked serious staff concerns about the facility's management.
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On May 6 last year, three detainees allegedly turned on a staff member at the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre in a brutal assault.
Two other staff came to their colleague's aid, and all three staff members were subsequently taken to Canberra Hospital.
The Canberra Times has been told four Bimberi employees were subsequently stood down pending an investigation into the incident, which still continues 10 months later.
Sources have said staff morale inside the facility has hit rock bottom and there are serious concerns with management's ability to handle the fallout.
"Some days they only have two youth workers," a source said.
"Staff morale is very low at the moment due to shortages.
"Last Thursday, the whole centre needed to be locked down and all visits cancelled for the day due to one young person misbehaving."
Another source said prior concerns about low staff numbers had fallen on deaf ears with management.
"Concerns about staff numbers have been known for some time. Now we have no staff to deliver the programmes.
"There's no one to look after the young people. A lot of them are sitting in lock down for long periods of time."
It is understood the assault began when, against standard practice, a Bimberi staff member was left to keep an eye on detainees in the facility's oval without senior supervision.
"The staff member was beaten to the ground and continued to be kicked and punched for several minutes," a source said.
"During the assault, the staff member became unconscious. It wasn't until other staff came back from lunch that the three young people were restrained."
The CPSU's ACT regional secretary Brooke Muscat-Bentley confirmed Bimberi staff had raised concerns with management.
"We have been monitoring the situation at Bimberi, including through discussions with our members and management," she said.
"The CPSU is continuing to follow up on concerns among staff about whether the centre is adequately staffed, both in terms of numbers of people and what roles they are deployed in.
"We are also continuing to push for improvements including additional training for staff to ensure Bimberi runs smoothly in the interests of workers and the children and young people who are being held in detention."
The ACT's Minister for Disability, Children and Youth, Rachel Stephen-Smith, confirmed the incident when approached by The Canberra Times..
"The Community Services Directorate is following processes set out in the relevant enterprise agreement to finalise this matter to ensure due processes for all parties involved in the incident.
"My interest is in ensuring the safety of young people in Bimberi and the staff who work there, and in allowing the prescribed processes to be finalised.
"The Community Services Directorate takes seriously its obligations to support staff and to equip them with the skills and abilities to deal with the challenging situations that may sometimes arise in a detention centre."
Do you know more? Get in touch confidentially at Steven.Trask@Fairfaxmedia.com.au
