Parkville Youth Residential Centre history in brief
Inside the grounds of Parkville Youth Residential Centre - A shot from inside the grounds showing buildings surrounding two trees - June 1999
In late 1993, the Parkville Youth Residential Centre opened in Park Street, Parkville on the site of the former Baltara Reception Centre, which closed in 1992. Parkville was also unofficially known as the Melbourne Youth Residential Centre.
Parkville Youth Residential Centre housed young people sentenced or on remand. After Nunawading Youth Residential Centre closed in 1993, its residents were transferred to Parkville.
Parkville Youth Residential Centre remains operational in 2016 for sentenced young people, and is part of the Parkville Youth Justice Precinct comprising two separate custodial centres: Parkville Youth Residential Centre, and Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre (later Melbourne Youth Justice Centre).
The centre accommodates:
- Barnett Unit: males 10–14 years remanded or sentenced by the Children’s Court
- Cullity Unit: females 10–17 years remanded or sentenced by the Children’s Court and females 18–21 years remanded or sentenced by an adult court to a senior youth training centre (now a youth justice centre order) as an alternative to prison.
The centre provides separate accommodation for males and females and a range of security options. The centre’s proximity to Turana (later the Melbourne Youth Justice Centre) maximised efficient use of support services.
Please note:
The Children and Young Persons Act 1989 required that the provision of services for children and young people on protective orders be separated from those provided to young offenders in custody. The Act established different divisions in the Children’s Court to completely separate child protection matters from criminal custodial matters.
The 1989 Act also established the term ‘children in need of protection’, replacing old terms ‘ward of state’ (from the Neglected Children’s Act 1887) and ‘trainee’ (from the Social Welfare Act 1960). Children and young people involved with child protection and sentenced young people are now all classified as ‘clients’.
Young people who entered the youth justice system before the 1989 Act was implemented, kept their trainee case history files, but not the later Client Relationship Information System institutional files (JJ CRIS prefix). This explains why the older records continued until the late 1990s – well after the terminology had changed.
The term ‘client’ is still used for all care leavers in Victoria.
Warning about distressing information
This guide contains information that some people may find distressing. If you experienced abuse as a child or young person in an institution mentioned in this guide, it may be a difficult reading experience. Guides may also contain references to previous views, policies and practices that are regrettable and do not reflect the current views, policies or practices of the department or the State of Victoria. If you find this content distressing, please consult with a support person either from the Department of Health and Human Services or another agency.
Disclaimer
Please note that the content of this administrative history is provided for general information only and does not purport to be comprehensive. The department does not guarantee the accuracy of this administrative history. For more information on the history of child welfare in Australia, see Find & .
Sources
- Archival Services agency histories
- Victorian Government gazette, no. G 24, 24 June 1993, p. 1625 [established Parkville Youth Training Centre and Parkville Youth Residential Centre].
- Victorian Government gazette, no. G 30, 5 August 1993, p. 2197 [established Parkville Remand Centre].
- Victorian Government gazette, no. G 22, 2 June 1994, pp. 1377–78 [abolished Parkville Youth Training Centre, Youth Residential Centre and Remand Centre and Turana Youth Training Centre and Remand Centres. Established on the whole site a youth training centre, youth residential centre and a remand centre, all un-named in the gazettal.].
Download Parkville Youth Residential Centre collection guide
Reviewed 10 August 2016