Youth worker loses dismissal case after unlocked door led to assaults
A youth worker at Canberra's Bimberi detention centre was fired for leaving a security door unlocked.
Reported by region.com.au
ShareWhy it matters
The ruling confirms workers can be fired for security breaches in detention settings. This applies even when the breach was accidental rather than on purpose.
In Australia. The Fair Work decision sets precedent for ACT public sector employment in high-security roles where procedural failures carry safety consequences.
Key facts
- 2022
- Worker employed from
- 24 April 2025
- Security breach date
- 3 inmates
- Assailants
- 2 vulnerable residents
- Victims assaulted
- A youth worker at Canberra's Bimberi detention centre left a security door unlocked on 24 April 2025.
- Inmates used the unlocked door to enter a wing and hurt two vulnerable residents.
- The worker had twice walked through the door between wings during a lockdown.
- The worker did not secure it the second time.
- The door stayed unlocked for 52 minutes before the assaults.
- During the assaults, the worker stepped in right away.
- She protected one victim until response staff arrived.
- She was hurt in the fight.
- The ACT Government fired her in April 2026.
- They cited serious security failure.
- The worker challenged her firing in the Fair Work Commission, arguing it was too harsh.
- Fair Work Commissioner Sarah McKinnon rejected the claim, finding the firing was justified.
