South Australian Consolidated Regulations

FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES REGULATIONS 2009 - REG 9

9—Detention rooms

        (1)         A resident of a training centre may only be detained in a detention room if an employee in the centre believes on reasonable grounds that—

            (a)         the resident is about to harm himself or herself or another person; or

            (b)         the resident is about to cause significant damage to property; or

            (c)         it is necessary to detain the resident in a detention room—

                  (i)         to maintain order in the centre; or

                  (ii)         to preserve the security of the centre.

        (2)         However, a resident of a training centre who is under the age of 12 years must not be detained in a detention room.

        (3)         The maximum length of time that a resident of a training centre may be detained in a detention room is as follows:

            (a)         in the case of a resident aged 12 to 14 years—24 hours;

            (b)         in the case of a resident aged 15 years or over—48 hours.

        (4)         A resident of a training centre who is detained in a detention room—

            (a)         must be closely supervised; and

            (b)         must be observed at intervals of not longer than 5 minutes.

        (5)         If a resident of a training centre is detained in a detention room, the manager of the centre must ensure that a record is made containing the following details:

            (a)         the name and age of the resident;

            (b)         the date and time the detention began;

            (c)         the date and time the detention ended;

            (d)         the reason for the detention;

            (e)         the name of the employee of the centre who ordered the detention;

            (f)         action taken (if any) in respect of the resident before the resident was so detained;

            (g)         the management plan established for the resident for the period during which the resident was detained in the detention room;

            (h)         any issues or concerns relating to the resident's medical condition.

        (6)         An account of an incident leading to the detention of a resident in a detention room must be—

            (a)         written, signed and dated by the resident; or

            (b)         if the resident cannot write—

                  (i)         written on the instructions of the resident, and signed and dated, by a person nominated for the purpose by the resident; and

                  (ii)         signed by the resident,

(and such account must be kept together with the record required to be kept under subregulation (5)).

        (7)         A resident may nominate any of the following persons for the purposes of subregulation (6)(b):

            (a)         the resident's case manager or case worker;

            (b)         a lawyer;

            (c)         a cultural advisor;

            (d)         any other adult person,

(but any such person nominated may not be an employee of the training centre nor have been present during the relevant incident that led to the resident being detained in the detention room).