In March, Inspector of Custodial Services Fiona Rafter released her report into six youth justice centres across NSW, including in Dubbo, revealing the conditions children as young as 10 are being kept in.

Although things had improved since the last round of inspections in 2019, Ms Rafter said the Orana Youth Justice Centre (YJC) in Dubbo was one of two she visited that needed "immediate intervention".

At the time of the inspection, July 26 to 28, 2022, Dubbo was experiencing issues with its town water and was on boil water alerts.

As bottled water was deemed a "risk", young people had to ask staff for cups of water if they were thirsty.

Nursing staff at the centre told the inspector she thought the young people were not getting enough water and were becoming lethargic.

Ms Rafter said she immediately raised the issue with management and, though their initial response "evidenced a failure to understand the duty of care", water was made readily available.

"Clean drinking water should be freely available to young people to drink as needed and it should not be incumbent on the young person to request something as essential as clean drinking water," she said in the report.

Ms Rafter also raised concern that changes to meal time procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic meant young people were not getting enough to eat.

"Staff eat first while young people remain in their room which at times results in less food for young people," she said.

During the last inspections in 2019, Ms Rafter noted young people were being provided with second-hand underwear, despite having an adequate supply of new ones on hand.

She said it was "disappointing" to see this was still happening in Dubbo and two western-Sydney-based centres in 2022.

"A reliable supply of clean underwear is essential for the dignity of young people," she said.

Youth Justice NSW denies that young people were being given second-hand underwear.

"[Our] position is that children will receive new clothing on admission," a spokesperson told the Daily Liberal.

"[We are] not aware of any instances where children have received laundered second-hand clothing by mistake."

The report also revealed that, like with other youth justice centres, staff recruitment and retention is a major issue for Orana.

Between March 1, 2021 and February 28, 2022 there were 59 physical assaults at Orana including 30 assaults on staff members. Eleven threats to workers were also reported.

Ms Rafter said staff morale at the centre was low and "impacting the care and treatment of the children and young people".

"The centre was struggling to fill vacancies and staff shortages were contributing to fatigue and burn out," she said.

"This affects relationships with young people and the delivery of services to young people.

"It was disappointing to hear stories of a deflated staff culture that was affecting everyday operations of the centre and impacting negatively on young people."

The shortage of staff meant the centre was not meeting the 10 hour per day minimum time out of room for young people and many recreational activities were not being run.

The inspector immediately raised the issues with staffing culture at the centre to the executive director of Youth Justice NSW.

Since then, the report says, changes to rostering practices, renewal of senior leadership roles, staff recognition and training have all contributed to "positive changes" at the centre.

James Clifford, managing solicitor of the Children's Criminal Law Practice at the Aboriginal Legal Service, said he wasn't surprised by the findings in the report.

He told the Daily Liberal the report proved detention centres are "not fit environments" for children.

"Our clients have experienced some of the injustices mentioned in the inspector's report, including being 'locked in' multiple times a day," he said.

"How is being locked and confined inside meant to be rehabilitative? This dehumanising treatment would frustrate any adult; imagine how it must feel for a child."

At the time of the inspector's visit, there were 13 young people staying at the centre, ranging in age from 10 to 21. Eleven were recorded as being Indigenous and five had a disability.

Mr Clifford said police and courts in the region "disproportionately" send Aboriginal children to youth detention.

"Aboriginal families and communities suffer disproportionately from the trauma caused by imprisonment," he said.

"Locking children up is harmful and does not work. Cutting kids off from their family, community, education, social activities, usual medical care, and support services only creates more problems.

"The evidence is very clear that imprisoning children only makes them more likely to cycle in and out of prison again in the future."

In her report, Ms Rafter made eight recommendations for improvements at the Orana YJC.

These included providing young people clean underwear, continuing work on improving staff morale, prioritising access to recreational programs and confidential spaces for the psychologists to work.

She also recommended that scratched windows obstructing officers' view of communal spaces be replaced and the "dark and uninviting" visitor space be refurbished.

"Providing a children's play space was a recommendation of the ICS 2015 Making Connections report. Improving the visits area was also a recommendation in our last report," she said.

"It is disappointing that nothing has been done at Orana YJC."

Asked about the latest report, a spokesperson for Youth Justice NSW told the Daily Liberal said that "almost all" of the recommendations are "supported", with some already completed or underway.

"[The report] reflects inspections that were undertaken mainly during the COVID-19 pandemic and has acknowledged the complexity of operating a custodial centre during this challenging time," the spokesperson said.

"[We are] committed to working with the Inspector of Custodial Services and all external partners to provide transparency and accountability in our policies and practices, and to deliver the best support to the young people in our care."

Since the report, replacement of the scratched windows has begun, the number of activities at the centre has increased and there are more opportunities for Indigenous elders to visit the centre and connect with the young people.

There has also been "extensive recruitment" and "workplace culture change" at Orana.

"There is now a large contingent of Aboriginal and culturally diverse staff, and some new managers. Staff and young people report significant improvement," the spokesperson said.

While he welcomes the improvements, Mr Clifford thinks the focus needs to shift onto ways to keep kids out of detention.

"What children and communities need is early, targeted support to address underlying factors like trauma, poverty, mental health and disability," he said.

"These services are most effective when delivered by trusted Aboriginal community-controlled organisations."