The Regulations instantiate a set of operational concepts that map directly onto regimes created by the Act. Key statutory concepts and the way the Regulations treat them are as follows.

• Youth subject to orders. The Regulations repeatedly treat a person as a youth for the purposes of attendance, orders and detention. That status triggers specific duties and entitlements: for example, a youth subject to a community work order must attend at times and places specified (r 8) and must not be under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs while at work (r 10). The Forms (Schedule 2) operationalise various orders and give standard language for court orders (Forms 8-14).

• Community work order and supervising officer. Part 3 (rr 5-21) defines supervising officer to include a community youth justice officer and a nominated project supervisor (r 6). The Regulations set out supervising officers’ functions (r 7), their powers to direct attendance (r 8), to order cessation of work in specified circumstances (r 11), to report to the CEO (r 7(1)(c)) and the prohibition on obtaining personal benefit from the youth’s work (r 21). The Regulations also prescribe protective clothing, footwear standards, rest and meal breaks and how travelling time and missed work due to injury are to be recorded as hours worked (rr 16-19).

• Alternative detention order and monitoring. Part 4 (rr 22-28) prescribes residence at specified premises (r 24), authorised exceptions to leave (r 25), surveillance and monitoring obligations (r 26), submission to alcohol and drug testing on direction (r 26(5)), and prohibited conduct while the order is in force (r 27). The alternative detention forms (Form 11 in Schedule 2) contain model conditions and lists of breach behaviours.

• Alcohol and drug testing architecture. Part 4AA (rr 28AA-28AG) defines prescribed tests (breath, saliva, urine, breath analysis and blood analysis, r 28AB), who may take or analyse samples (prescribed samplers under rr 28AD-28AF), and the classes of persons who may issue evidentiary certificates (r 28AG). The Regulations import definitions and instruments from other statutes by reference, for example the prescribed breath analysis instrument is defined by section 3(1) of the Traffic Act 1987 (r 28AA and 28AB(d)).

• Detention centre administration and detainee management. Part 5 sets administration concepts: determinations by CEO or Superintendent that may become rules of the detention centre (rr 30-31), the daily routine (r 31A), admission registers and which particulars must be recorded (r 33), retention and destruction of records (r 34), safekeeping of property (rr 36-37), visitor protocols and prohibited entries (rr 45-52), mail inspection rules including protected communications and exceptions (rr 53-56), health assessments and medical attention timeframes (rr 57-60), clothing and dietary requirements (rr 61-62), detainee obligations to follow lawful instructions and complaint procedures (rr 65-66), productive activity obligations (r 69), permitted restraint devices (r 70), monitoring regimes for separated detainees (rr 71-72), and search procedures and registers (rr 73-74).

• Evidentiary and recordkeeping devices. The Regulations create evidentiary certificates (r 28AG) that the CEO, Commissioner of Police and specified testers can issue to certify fact-based matters, and they require multiple registers and journals to be kept for searches, complaints and separation monitoring (rr 67, 71(2), 71A(3), 72(2), 74).

• Form standardisation. Part 6 and Schedule 2 (r 75, Schedule 2) prescribe forms for core court, detention and administrative steps: charging (Form 1), summons (Form 2), warrants (Forms 5, 6, 13, 14), orders (Form 7), community work (Form 9), alternative detention (Form 11), periodic detention (Form 12) and procedural applications (Forms 15-17). These forms embed notice and breach language that converts regulatory obligations into enforceable directives.

Each main concept ties back to a regulation or schedule entry. The Regulations therefore provide an operational blueprint: who may act, where they may act, what records must be made, what tests may be used, and the cadence and content of oversight logs and protocols.

The Regulations set obligations and powers that affect identifiable groups of people and entities. The primary affected parties and how the Regulations engage them are:

• Youths subject to the Act and to court orders. Youths are the direct subjects of community work orders (Part 3), alternative detention orders (Part 4), testing (Part 4AA) and detention-centre rules (Part 5). Duties imposed on youths include attendance (r 8), abstention from alcohol and illicit drugs while performing community work or on alternative detention (r 10, r 27(b)-(c)), compliance with supervising officers and CEO directions (r 7(1)(a), r 26(1)), notifying community youth justice officers of absences for medical treatment (r 25(3)), reporting address changes within 48 hours in certain orders as indicated in the forms (see Form 9 notes, Forms 11 and 12 notes), and following detention centre rules while detained (r 65).

• Police officers. Police must record specific particulars in youth interviews pursuant to s 18(4) of the Act as implemented by r 3. Police are listed as authorised samplers for breath, saliva and urine tests under r 28AD(b), and the Commissioner of Police may issue evidentiary certificates in relation to police officers and persons authorised under the Traffic Act (r 28AG(3)). Police are also addressees for warrants and remand warrants in the prescribed forms (Schedule 2 Forms 5, 6, 13, 14).

• Community youth justice officers and supervising officers. The Regulations define supervising officer functions (r 7), give supervising officers power to direct youth attendance and cessation of work (rr 8, 11), to report to the CEO (r 7(1)(c)), and require them to refrain from deriving personal benefit from a youth’s work (r 21). Community youth justice officers are also allocated monitoring functions under alternative detention (r 26), and are authorised to carry out breath, saliva or urine tests (r 28AD(a)).

• CEO and Superintendent. The CEO has broad powers in the Regulations: to exempt youths from community work attendance on reasonable grounds (r 9), to hold inquiries after a supervising officer orders cessation (r 12), to suspend youths for breach (r 13), to make determinations for the management and operation of detention centres (r 30), to approve persons to carry out tests (r 28AD(c), r 28AE(b)) and to issue evidentiary certificates in prescribed circumstances (r 28AG(2)). The Superintendent must keep and publish detention-centre rules (rr 30-31), maintain registers and photographs (r 33), safeguard detainee property (r 37), ensure prompt medical assessments and treatment (rr 57-58), and manage visitor access and complaint registers (rr 45-47, 66-67). Many duties and discretionary powers therefore rest with these executives.

• Health practitioners, pathologists and phlebotomists. Part 4AA defines who may take blood samples and who may analyse them. A blood sample must be taken by a health practitioner or phlebotomist (r 28AF(1)), and the analysis must be undertaken by a pathologist (r 28AF(2)). Health practitioner and pathologist are defined with reference to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (r 28AA).

• Legal representatives, interpreters and visitors. Legal representatives and interpreters may visit detainees at any reasonable time and, for legal representatives, the visit must not be monitored (r 47). Visitors must provide identification and may be searched (r 48). The Superintendent may refuse entry or require a person to leave in particular circumstances (rr 49-50). The Ombudsman and authorised persons may attend detention centres during investigations (r 32(2)).

• Courts and registrars. The Regulations prescribe forms and procedural documents to be used by the Youth Justice Court and registrars (r 75, Schedule 2), and list the circumstances in which certain forms are the operative document for charging, summonses, warrants, and the imposition or suspension of sentences (Forms 1-18).

• Other statutory agencies. The Regulations refer to and intersect with other statutory frameworks. For example, the Traffic Act 1987 is referenced for breath analysis instruments (r 28AA), the Firearms Act 1997 is referenced for the definition of firearm in r 28(1), the Fines and Penalties (Recovery) Regulations 2001 determine the applicable rate if higher than the $12.50 figure in r 4(2), and the Ombudsman and Children’s Commissioner are given specific roles in visits and potential complaint referrals (r 32, r 66(5A)).

The Regulations therefore impose recordkeeping, surveillance, testing, procedural and custodial obligations across law enforcement, corrections executives, health professionals and the youth and their supports. Where the Regulations give wide discretion to the CEO or Superintendent (for example rr 30-32, r 31(2)), they create administrative decision points that will affect operational practice across detention centres and community supervision.

The Regulations specify a number of concrete duties for officials and rights or entitlements for youths and detainees. These duties are procedural and operational; the list below ties duties to the regulation that prescribes them.

Duties imposed on police and authorised interviewers

• Record specific interview particulars in youth interviews: police must record that the youth was informed of the right to silence, whether the youth exercised the right or answered questions, efforts to contact legal representation where requested, and information about contact with friends, relatives or support persons (r 3). This is a compulsory recordkeeping duty flowing from s 18(4) of the Act via r 3.

Duties of supervising officers and community youth justice officers

• Supervise youths as directed by the CEO, establish identity of those attending work, and report attendance, attitude and conduct to the CEO (r 7(1)(a)-(c)). Supervising officers must also be prepared to give evidence in court proceedings for breaches (r 7(2)).
• Order youths to cease work if under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs or otherwise breaching the order; require the youth to leave the workplace (r 11).

Duties of the CEO

• Consider and grant exemptions from attendance at community work for reasonable grounds (r 9).
• Hold inquiries after a supervising officer directs a youth to cease work, and require information from supervising officers or the youth (r 12).
• Suspend youths who have breached community work orders by notice (r 13).
• Make determinations for the management and operation of detention centres and for maintaining order and detainee welfare (r 30). Such determinations may become rules that must be posted and explained to detainees (r 31).

Duties and entitlements in community work orders

• Youths must attend at places and times specified and must not leave without supervising officer approval (r 8).
• Youths may apply for exemption (r 9), and illness-related non-attendance requires a medical certificate within 72 hours unless the CEO allows more time (r 14).
• Protective clothing and footwear standards are mandatory where supplied or directed (r 16).
• Travelling time reasonably spent between reporting points and worksites counts as time worked (r 17).
• Specified rest and meal breaks are required for an 8-hour day and are counted as time worked (r 18).
• Time lost due to injury sustained through work is counted as time worked to the reasonable extent (r 19).
• Supervising officers must not obtain personal benefit from youths’ work (r 21).

Duties and constraints under alternative detention orders

• Youths must reside at the specified premises (r 24), must not leave except as approved (r 25), must accept supervision and comply with directions of community youth justice officers (r 26), may be required to accept telephone or device-based monitoring (r 26(2)), must submit to alcohol or drug tests at the direction of community youth justice officers (r 26(5)), and must not possess firearms at the residence without CEO approval (r 28(1)). Prohibited conduct under r 27 includes consuming alcohol and using illicit drugs.

Testing and evidentiary duties

• The Regulations prescribe which tests are authorised (r 28AB), who may perform breath, saliva or urine tests (r 28AD), who may perform breath analysis (r 28AE), who may take blood samples and who must analyse them (r 28AF), and who may issue evidentiary certificates and in relation to which matters (r 28AG). These provisions impose duties on health practitioners, phlebotomists and pathologists to carry out samples and certify matters, and provide designated administrative certificatory routes (CEO, Commissioner of Police, persons who carried out a test).

Detainee rights and Superintendent duties in detention centres

• On admission, detainees must be subject to a comprehensive medical and health assessment within 24 hours, or an interim assessment by a registered nurse or midwife until a full medical examination can be arranged (r 57).
• Detainees are entitled to food meeting dietary requirements of developing youths, access to ministers of religion, and sufficient clothing, including varying colours and styles so as not to form a uniform (rr 61-63).
• Detainees may receive visits from friends and relatives as soon as practicable after admission and at least one visit per week as far as reasonably practicable (r 46). Legal representatives and interpreters may visit at any reasonable time and legal visits must not be monitored (r 47).
• The Superintendent must maintain and publish detention-centre rules and ensure detainees who cannot read have rules explained to them (r 31(2)-(3)).
• Detainees may lodge written complaints; the Superintendent must deal with them as soon as practicable and must keep a complaints register and inform the Children’s Commissioner where appropriate (r 66-67, r 66(5A)).

Searches, restraints and separation

• Searches must be conducted with regard to the detainee’s dignity and self-respect, by staff of the same gender where practicable, and personal searches are constrained by presence rules and method (r 73).
• Certain restraint devices are prescribed (handcuffs, ankle cuffs, waist restraining systems, anti-spit guards, personal body shields) and personal body shields are limited to restraining movement only (r 70).
• Separation categories (voluntary, medical, behavioural) each carry monitoring intervals and journal-keeping requirements (rr 71-72).

Evidentiary and procedural duties

• Registrars and persons carrying out tests, admissions and searches must keep detailed records in registers and journals (r 33, r 34, r 67, r 71(2), r 71A(3), r 72(2), r 74), and evidentiary certificates are prescribed to streamline proof of factual matters in proceedings (r 28AG).

Taken together, the Regulations convert operational responsibilities into discrete duties and timeframes and set a parallel set of entitlements for youths and detainees intended to safeguard health, legal access and process certainty. Where discretion is conferred, the Regulations designate the official (CEO, Superintendent) who must exercise it and require records and notices in many instances to document outcomes.

The Regulations provide both explicit criminal penalties for certain non-compliance and administrative enforcement mechanisms for breaches of orders and detention rules. The enforcement architecture combines statutory offences with administrative suspension, arrest warrants in the forms, and evidentiary mechanisms.

Statutory penalties expressly stated in the Regulations

• Regulation 50(2) specifies a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months where the Superintendent requires a person to leave the detention centre and the person does not comply. Regulation 50(1) authorises the Superintendent to require a person to leave if they behaved improperly or inappropriately while at the centre.
• Regulation 52(2) makes it an offence to visit a detainee in hospital without the permission of the CEO or Superintendent, punishable by up to 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months. Regulation 52(3) limits permitted visitors in serious illness to those appropriate in the CEO or Superintendent’s opinion.

Administrative enforcement mechanisms

• Suspending attendance at community work: if a supervising officer directs a youth to cease work, the CEO may hold an inquiry (r 12) and, if satisfied that a youth has breached a community work order, may suspend attendance by notice under r 13. Suspension remains in force until dealt with under s 121 of the Act (r 13(2)). The suspension notice may be served personally or by post (r 13(3)).
• Breach consequences signalled in forms: Schedule 2 forms embed breach language that signals immediate arrest and enforcement powers. For example, the notes to Form 9 (community work order) and Form 11 (alternative detention order) warn that the youth may be arrested immediately if they breach the order, and list behaviours that will constitute breaches (Schedule 2 notes).
• Warrants and remand: Forms 5 and 6 specify who is authorised to execute warrants and remand warrants, and the processes for apprehension, arrest and delivery to detention centres or custodial facilities. Persons failing to heed summonses or warrants can be the subject of arrest authorised in these forms.
• Search and seizure and mail retention: the Superintendent may open and inspect mail when there is a reasonable suspicion of threat, unlawful purpose, or adverse effect on centre security (r 54(1)-(3)). Where opened, the Superintendent must take possession and deal with mail according to CEO directions (r 54(3)(a)-(b), r 54(4)-(5)). The CEO’s directions are an administrative enforcement lever over communications. For letters purporting to originate from legal representatives, Ministers, the CEO or Ombudsman, the Superintendent must not delay or inspect them except when there is reasonable suspicion the letter is not genuine; in that case the Superintendent may open the letter to establish origin and must report to the CEO (r 55(1)-(4)).

Evidentiary facilitation

• The Regulations provide for evidentiary certificates to be issued by the CEO, Commissioner of Police, persons who carried out tests, health practitioners, phlebotomists and pathologists (r 28AG(2)-(7)). Those certificates create a streamlined route to establishing facts in proceedings under section 140AH of the Act. In other words, offences or breaches involving tests, admissions, authorisations, or the operation of testing devices can be proven by certificate from the authorised signatory rather than only by oral testimony, which is an enforcement and evidentiary design feature.

Monitoring and recordkeeping as enforcement backbone

• The Regulations require detailed registers and journals (admission registers r 33, complaints register r 67, search register r 74, separation journals rr 71-72, and daily routines r 31A). These records are enforcement infrastructure; they allow internal review, external oversight and support decisions to suspend or to issue warrants to enforce compliance.

Delegated discretion and enforcement risk

• The CEO and Superintendent are given broad delegated powers to make determinations about conduct, visitor access and detention-centre rules (rr 30-32, 31(2)). Enforcement, therefore, depends materially on administrative decision-making and internal policies that the Regulations allow but do not fully prescribe, for example the content and posting of rules, the conditions attached to authorised visitors, and the CEO’s ongoing directions about mail handling (r 31(2), r 32(1), r 54(4)-(5)).

In sum, the Regulations combine criminal penalties for particular conduct at detention centres, administrative enforcement via suspension and arrest mechanisms embedded in court orders, and evidentiary certificates to support prosecutions or proof of fact in proceedings. The overall structure relies heavily on recordkeeping and CEO/Superintendent discretion to operationalise enforcement choices.

The Regulations expressly cross-reference and incorporate definitions, instruments and decision-making frameworks from several other statutes and regulatory instruments. The main interactions evident in the text are as follows.

Statutory cross-references

• Youth Justice Act 2005. The Regulations are made under and in aid of the Act. Numerous provisions convert or implement Act sections, for example r 3 (particulars required for s 18(4) of the Act), r 3A (prescribed offences for s 38A(a) of the Act), and r 75 which prescribes forms for multiple sections of the Act. The Regulations therefore implement Act provisions by prescribing details, forms, and operational processes that the Act authorises or requires.

• Criminal Code (NT). Regulation 3A prescribes a specific list of offences from the Criminal Code that will trigger provisions of the Act (r 3A(1)(a), (b), (f), (g) and subsequent subregs). The endnotes and list of amendments show specific historical interactions with Criminal Code amendments, such as the Criminal Code Amendment (Property Offences) Act 2022 and the Criminal Justice Legislation Amendment (Sexual Offences) Act 2023, which led to re-prescribing offences as they existed at earlier dates (r 3A(2)-(3)). This is an explicit interaction whereby the Regulations identify which Code offences engage youth-justice-specific processes.

• Traffic Act 1987. The definition of a prescribed breath analysis instrument for Part 4AA is imported from section 3(1) of the Traffic Act 1987 (r 28AA, r 28AB(d)). Regulation 3A also prescribes several Traffic Act offences as relevant for the Act (r 3A(1)(g)). The cross-reference therefore integrates traffic-testing technology and offences with the youth justice testing and offence-prescription architecture.

• Firearms Act 1997. Regulation 28(1) refers to the Firearms Act 1997 s 3(1) for the definition of firearm, thereby using that Act to determine the scope of the prohibition on a youth possessing a firearm while on alternative detention premises.

• Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and associated Acts. The Regulations define health practitioner, pathologist and phlebotomist for Part 4AA with reference to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (Cth) (r 28AA). Those definitions determine who may take blood samples or qualify to issue certificates.

• Fines and Penalties (Recovery) Regulations 2001. Regulation 4(2) makes the hourly compensation rate for community work contingent on whether a higher rate is prescribed by regulation 14 of the Fines and Penalties (Recovery) Regulations 2001, thereby linking compensation calculation in youth community work to rates set in the Fines and Penalties scheme.

Administrative and oversight links

• Ombudsman Act 2009 and Children’s Commissioner Act 2013. The Regulations allow Ombudsman representatives to attend detention centres in the course of investigations (r 32(2)). Regulation 66(5A) requires the Superintendent to notify the Children’s Commissioner when a complaint could be the subject of a complaint under the Children’s Commissioner Act 2013, which creates a channel for external child-specific oversight.

• National vocational and health regulatory regimes. The use of phlebotomist training standards (r 28AA) and the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law definitions link the practical operation of blood sampling to national professional registration and training standards.

Practical implications of the interactions

• Evidentiary and operational consistency. By importing definitions and instruments from other Acts, the Regulations ensure that the specific technical standards used in testing and detention (for example breath analysis instruments, medical practitioner credentials, and the definition of firearm) are consistent with other regulatory regimes. That alignment limits the need to re-specify standards in the youth justice instrument and anchors operational practice to pre-existing technical frameworks.

• Temporal complexity and transitional preservation. Regulation 3A demonstrates that the Regulations may preserve older statutory forms of offences for the purpose of the Act (for example offences as in force immediately before commencement of Criminal Code Amendment Acts). That choice requires administrators, prosecutors and defence advisors to check whether the relevant version of the Criminal Code applies in a particular case, adding complexity to legal assessments.

• Cross-agency operational dependencies. The Regulations presuppose functioning links with police, the CEO, health services and forensic analysis capacity (rr 28AD-28AF, r 28AG). Where those external systems are constrained, the operational requirements in the Regulations (for example testing and prompt blood analysis by a pathologist) will be difficult to deliver.

In short, the Regulations are designed to work alongside and within other statutory regimes by importing definitions and referencing instruments. That approach standardises technical matters but creates dependence on the functioning of other statutory systems and on careful application of transitional and versioning rules where other Acts have been amended.

The Regulations include an explicit record of amendments and a chronological list of legislative instruments that have altered their content. The endnotes and list of amendments specify the following key changes and insertion points.

Founding and commencement

• The Youth Justice Regulations 2006 (SL No. 25, 2006) were notified 26 July 2006 and commenced on 1 August 2006 (r 2), coincident with commencement of the Youth Justice Act 2005.

Subsequent amending Acts and instruments

• Justice Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 2006, Statute Law Revision Act 2007, and multiple subsequent amending Acts appear in the endnotes as having made formal amendments or consequential changes. The list of legislation in the endnotes documents successive amendments and commencement dates for many amending Acts such as the Youth Justice Amendment (Family Responsibility) Regulations 2008 (SL No. 15, 2008), the Ombudsman Act 2009, the Health Practitioner (National Uniform Legislation) Implementation Act 2012, the Children’s Commissioner Act 2013, and multiple Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Acts in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2025.

Insertion of Part 4AA (alcohol and drug testing)

• Part 4AA, which sets out the alcohol and drug testing regime, was inserted by the Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (Act No. 19, 2017) as recorded in the list of amendments (pt 4AA hdg ins Act No. 19, 2017, s 14; rr 28AA-28AC ins Act No. 19, 2017, s 14; rr 28AD-28AF ins Act No. 19, 2017, s 14; r 28AG ins Act No. 19, 2017, s 14). This represents a substantive policy and operational change adding a testing regime.

Prescriptions tied to Criminal Code amendments

• Regulation 3A was inserted by the Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2019 (Act No. 32, 2019) and has since been amended to preserve particular versions of Criminal Code offences when other Code amendments occurred (see Act No. 24, 2022; Act No. 20, 2023; No. 20, 2024, r 15; Act No. 21, 2025, s 31). The Regulations therefore track criminal-law amendment history, and r 3A(2)-(3) explicitly references offences as in force immediately before specified amendments.

Recent updates and 2025 amendments

• The Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (Act No. 21, 2025) assented 11 August 2025 and commenced 4 September 2025. The list of amendments shows r 31A (daily routine of detention centre) was inserted by Act No. 21, 2025, s 32; r 65 was amended by s 33 of that Act; r 70 was repealed and replaced and r 71A inserted by s 34; and r 72 was amended and subbed by Act No. 12, 2018 and later amended by Act No. 21, 2025, s 35. General formal amendments of a technical nature were effected by the Interpretation Legislation Amendment Act 2018 to rr 1, 3, 4, 28, 28AA, 28AE, 29 and 66 and Schedules 1 and 2.

Consequence: layered statutory text

• The amendment history shows a layering effect. The Regulations have been adjusted to reflect legislative policy shifts and to align technical definitions with national registration regimes. The insertion of Part 4AA in 2017 was a material expansion. The 2025 amendments introduced further monitoring, separation and detention management detail (rr 31A, 71A). Users must consult the consolidated, as‑in‑force text (this reprint as at 4 September 2025) and cross-check referenced Acts given the Regulations’ practice of preserving earlier versions of certain offences in r 3A.

The endnotes provide a navigable trail of the principal amending Acts and commencement dates. Practitioners should note that r 3A and other provisions intentionally preserve historical versions of offences in certain contexts, which can materially affect charges and procedural triggers under the Act.

The text supplied contains no court decisions, case citations or litigation history. It does, however, create a number of litigation-relevant mechanisms and evidentiary tools that will shape how disputes about compliance, breach and admissibility are litigated. Those features include:

• Evidentiary certificates. Regulation 28AG creates a statutory route for the CEO, Commissioner of Police, persons who performed tests, health practitioners, phlebotomists and pathologists to issue certificates regarding tests performed, identity and roles, and sample handling. Those certificates are designed to be admissible under the Act’s evidentiary provision (section 140AH as referenced). The presence of prescribed certifiers is a litigation-relevant mechanism because trial practice will often rely on certified facts rather than live oral testimony.

• Prescribed tests and authorised samplers. The Regulations prescribe the precise tests (r 28AB) and who may carry them out (rr 28AD-28AF). A litigated challenge to a test result or chain-of-custody will frequently turn on compliance with these regulatory prescriptions: whether the sampler was an authorised person, whether the analysis was performed by a person listed in r 28AE or r 28AF(2), and whether certificates conform to r 28AG. The Regulations therefore set the procedural thresholds that evidence must satisfy.

• Recordkeeping and registers. The Regulations require admission particulars (r 33), photographs and destruction rules (r 34), complaints registers (r 67), search registers (r 74) and separation journals (rr 71-72). These documents will be tendered in litigation to show compliance with detention-centre duties or to contest alleged mistreatment or procedural errors. The Regulations’ specificity about what must be recorded and when (for example r 57(1) requiring assessment within 24 hours) will form the basis of procedural challenges and judicial review claims where administrative deadlines are missed.

• Visitor, mail and privacy rules. The Regulations set a limited protection for certain communications (r 55) and provide circumstances in which the Superintendent may inspect mail (r 54). Litigation about access to legal advice or the integrity of communications may invoke these provisions. The Regulations’ requirement that legal visits must not be monitored (r 47(2)) is an explicit protection that can be enforced in court.

• Administrative discretion and review. The CEO and Superintendent have delegated authority to make determinations about detention-centre rules and to exercise exemptions and suspensions (rr 9, 12-13, 30-31). Such discretionary decisions are amenable to administrative law review on standard grounds if a litigant seeks review of the exercise of power, though the Regulations themselves do not set out review mechanisms beyond referrals and notifications (for example r 66(5A) regarding the Children’s Commissioner). The presence of prescribed forms and recorded service mechanisms (r 13(3)) will influence how proof of service and notice are litigated.

• Breach and warrant process. The Schedule 2 forms (Forms 5, 6, 13, 14) standardise warrants and remands and will be central in proceedings where breaches or non-attendance are alleged. The forms’ language both triggers enforcement action and becomes evidence of the court’s intent and orders in subsequent litigation.

Because the supplied text names no cases, users should treat the Regulations as an operational and evidentiary framework likely to generate litigation about testing compliance, detention-centre procedures, administrative discretion and evidentiary certificates. Any actual litigation history must be sought in external case law resources, because the Regulations themselves do not supply that material.

The Regulations contain numerous procedural detail points that create compliance risks if overlooked. The following operational “gotchas” are drawn directly from the text and identify places where small failures can have outsized consequences.

Recordkeeping and time limits

• Police must record particular interview details. Regulation 3 requires police to record that the youth was informed of the right to silence and to document efforts to contact legal representation and support people. Failure to make the prescribed record could affect admissibility or procedural compliance under the Act.

• Short notice windows. The Regulations impose short time limits that can trip up administers and youths: applications for exemption from community work must be made not less than 24 hours before the day the youth is to attend (r 9(3)), unless the CEO approves a shorter period (r 9(4)). A youth who attends ill must supply a medical certificate within 72 hours of the required attendance time, otherwise the CEO may not accept the excuse unless further time is allowed (r 14(2)-(3)).

• Address-change and reporting obligations embedded in forms. Several forms and their notes require notification of change of address within 48 hours (Form 9 notes; Form 12 notes). That requirement operates as an element of compliance with community work, alternative detention and periodic detention orders, and failing to notify can be asserted as a breach underlying an arrest or remedial action.

Testing logistics and authorised personnel

• Who may take and analyse samples is strictly defined. For breath/saliva/urine tests the sampler must be a community youth justice officer, police officer or CEO-approved person (r 28AD). For breath analysis the operator must be authorised under the Traffic Act or CEO-approved (r 28AE). Blood sampling must be performed by a health practitioner or trained phlebotomist and analysed by a pathologist (r 28AF). If a sample is taken by an unapproved person or analysed outside the prescribed chain, the evidentiary certificate regime (r 28AG) could be undermined.

Evidentiary certificates: scope and limits

• The Regulations set who may issue evidentiary certificates and the matters they may certify (r 28AG). Practitioners must ensure that certificates are issued by the prescribed person for the prescribed matter. For example, only a pathologist may issue a certificate about how blood analysis was carried out and its results (r 28AG(7)). A certificate outside these lines may be challenged and reduce the ease of proof.

Discretion concentrated at CEO and Superintendent

• Many operational choices rest with the CEO or Superintendent. The CEO may approve persons to carry out tests (rr 28AD(c), 28AE(b)), make determinations that become detention-centre rules (r 30), and give directions about mail retention (r 54(4)). The Superintendent must determine entry conditions, refuse visits, and impose visitor requirements (rr 32, 48-50). The exercise of such discretion may vary by centre and over time, producing variable compliance outcomes. Practitioners need to document decisions and seek written directions or reasons where possible.

Mail and legal communication exceptions

• Letters from legal representatives, Ministers, the CEO or Ombudsman are protected from inspection (r 55(1)), but the Superintendent can open a letter claiming to be from those sources if there is reasonable suspicion the letter is not genuine (r 55(2)). If opened under that exception, the Superintendent must report in writing to the CEO (r 55(3)). This creates a tight but important exception where authenticity is disputed and a procedural duty to report arises.

Separation monitoring intervals and record detail

• The Regulations prescribe specific monitoring intervals for separated detainees that vary by type of separation and medical direction (rr 71-72, 71A). For example, voluntary separation requires written observations at intervals not exceeding 30 minutes (r 71(1)(b)), while behavioural separation requires monitoring at intervals not exceeding 15 minutes and reassessment every two hours (r 72(1)(b)-(c)). Failure to maintain the prescribed monitoring intervals and journal entries will be a record compliance problem.

Search dignity and gender rules

• Searches must be conducted with regard to dignity and, as practicable, by staff of the same gender and in the presence of a staff member of the same gender (r 73(2)). Personal searches are limited to two members of staff of the same gender and must not be conducted in the sight of other detainees, persons of the opposite gender, or more people than necessary (r 73(3)). Practical compliance with these constraints requires staffing and shift planning.

Form dependencies and procedural defaults

• Many court and administrative procedures require the prescribed form under r 75. Failure to use the correct form (for example a warrant, remand warrant, application or order) could have procedural consequences. Forms also embed breach definitions and notice language that courts and administrators will rely on in enforcement.

Inter-agency dependencies

• Testing and medical obligations depend on external healthcare capacity, and analysis requires pathologists and authorised instruments. Where local capacity is limited, compliance with time-critical requirements (for example immediate medical referral when a court notes ‘at risk’ or the 24-hour medical assessment in r 57) may be challenging.

In short, compliance risk clusters around short statutory timelines, precise authorisation of testers and certifiers, mandatory registers and journals, CEO/Superintendent discretion, and numerous interdependencies with health and forensic services. Practitioners should treat these as concrete operational constraints that require checklists, staff training and documented decision-making.

The Regulations lay out specific recordkeeping, procedural and operational steps. The compliance advice below is practical and tied to particular regulatory obligations; it is suitable for frontline officers, detention centre managers, supervising officers, legal representatives and policy teams.

For police conducting youth interviews (r 3)

• Ensure each youth interview record includes the particulars listed in r 3: confirmation the youth was informed of the right to silence; whether the youth elected silence or answered questions; if legal advice was requested, document the efforts to contact the youth’s legal practitioner; confirm the youth was informed of the right to contact a friend, relative, responsible adult or support person; and if such contact was requested, set out the efforts made and the name and contact details of the person contacted.
• Use standardised electronic or paper templates replicating r 3 language to avoid omissions. Retain copies linked to the charging Form 1 (Schedule 2) and court file.

For supervising officers managing community work orders (Parts 3)

• Maintain an attendance register that records hours worked, reasons for non-attendance, exemption requests, and any direction to cease work (r 7, r 8, rr 12-13).
• Before assigning work, ensure identity verification and record the youth’s name and the project supervisor (r 7(1)(b)). Keep written reports for the CEO on attendance, attitude and conduct (r 7(1)(c)).
• Enforce r 10 prohibitions on alcohol and drugs; if a youth is suspected to be under the influence, direct cessation under r 11 and report to the CEO under r 12. Ensure the youth receives the required notice if suspended (r 13).
• Supply and record protective clothing and confirm footwear meets the “closed shoes” minimum where required (r 16). Record rest and meal breaks as time worked (r 18).
• Account for travel time where transportation between reporting points and worksites is used (r 17).

For CEOs and Superintendents (Parts 3 and 5)

• Publish determinations and rules of the detention centre where detainees can access them and ensure explanations are provided to those who cannot read (r 31).
• Prepare and keep the admission register particulars and photographs in the form required by r 33; apply r 34 destruction requirements where a detainee is discharged without conviction or acquitted.
• Establish and maintain a complaints register and process that complies with r 66-67, including referral to the Children’s Commissioner where appropriate under r 66(5A).
• Implement the Emergency Management Protocol for at-risk detainees, ensure observation-room checks, rip-proof bedding, 15-minute observation entries, removal of potentially harmful items and provision of fluids and food (r 42). Maintain individual management plans prepared by medical practitioners as required by r 43.

For community youth justice officers and those supervising alternative detention (Part 4)

• Ensure alternative detention orders clearly state the premises and any permitted leave, and follow r 25 on permitted attendance for employment, education, religious worship and medical treatment.
• Implement monitoring and surveillance systems consistent with r 26, including acceptance of calls and device-based monitoring where required, and ensure youth consent to monitoring is recorded where required by the Act and the order’s conditions.
• When directing tests under r 26(5), ensure a prescribed test as defined in r 28AB is used and that samplers are authorised under r 28AD-28AF.

For testing and medical sampling (Part 4AA)

• Use only the persons authorised under rr 28AD-28AF to take samples and ensure analysis is undertaken by the persons prescribed (r 28AF(2)). Train staff to record chain-of-custody and sample handling details so that evidentiary certificates under r 28AG may be issued and relied upon.
• Where breath analysis is performed, confirm the instrument is a prescribed breath analysis instrument as defined under the Traffic Act 1987 and confirm the operator is authorised under that Act or CEO-approved (r 28AE).
• Ensure health practitioners and phlebotomists meet the training and registration standards cited in r 28AA for taking blood samples.

For detention-centre operational compliance (Part 5)

• Carry out comprehensive medical and health assessments within 24 hours of admission (r 57). Keep interim assessment records where a medical practitioner is not immediately available (r 57(2)-(3)).
• Implement clothing and dietary provisions that comply with r 61-62, including non-uniform clothing and age-appropriate nutrition.
• Keep visitor records (r 45) and ensure legal representative visits are not monitored, except that visits may be placed in view but not hearing of staff where the Superintendent directs (r 47(2)-(3)). Maintain visitor ID and search protocols (r 48).
• Maintain search registers and ensure searches observe dignity and gender rules (r 73-74).

For recordkeeping and evidence (multiple regs)

• Use standardised templates and logs for: admission registers (r 33), search registers (r 74), complaints register (r 67), separation journals (rr 71-72, 71A), monitoring observation logs for at-risk detainees (r 42(2)(c)), and testing chain-of-custody and evidence certificates (r 28AG).
• Where the CEO or Superintendent exercises discretion, record the decision, reasons and any supporting evidence or certificates. Where the Regulations require posting or giving copies to detainees (r 31(3)), keep proof of posting or handover.

For legal representatives and advocates

• Verify that legal visits are recorded as non-monitored (r 47(2)), and if a detainee alleges restricted access or inspection of protected legal mail, check r 55 and request written explanations or CEO directions where mail has been opened under r 55(2).

Administrative practice and training

• Provide training modules to staff that cover the short timeframes (24-hour exemption windows, 72-hour medical certificates, 24-hour medical assessment on admission), gender-sensitive search procedures, sample-taking authorisations, and the use and issuance of evidentiary certificates.
• Coordinate with local health services, policing and forensic labs to ensure authorised samplers and analysts are available, and document contingency plans where capacity is limited.

Audit and oversight

• Schedule periodic audits of registers and compliance with monitoring intervals and medical assessment timeframes. Use the CEO’s determinations as the basis for internal rulebooks and ensure copies are posted in detention centres as required (r 31(2)), updating detainees when rules change (r 31(5)).

This checklist links a specific regulatory citation to a practical action. Compliance is largely about timely records, authorised personnel for high-risk procedural steps (tests, medical sampling), and documenting discretionary decisions by the CEO and Superintendent to create defensible administrative files.