“Unit 18 is not acceptable, it’s not what the government would like it to be, and we’re determined to make it better, but there is no alternative.

“If you take them back to Banksia, it compromises the 76 other juvenile detainees, who don’t get time out of their cell, or go to school, or exercise because those individuals are disruptive, violent, and complex and challenging.

“Just because the letter came, it doesn’t mean we’re not doing everything we can to keep those juveniles, those detainees safe given that unit 18 is not the desired or optimal location. But there is no other magical place.”

The state government also revealed an infrastructure review had been undertaken, with the findings and recommendations currently before cabinet.

Papalia would not be drawn on the recommendations, but said he expected it would include the construction of a purpose-built facility and vowed to throw every resource the department had at it.

The news comes amid persistent warnings from advocates that the youth justice system was failing vulnerable children and after the state’s own justice department data showed Unit 18 prisoners were being confined to their cells for up to 20 hours per day.

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In July, the WA Supreme Court ruled that subjecting children to prolonged isolation in cells was akin to solitary confinement and was illegal.

It also follows the release of the disability royal commission report, which recommended both facilities stop using solitary confinement and that the government legislate a ban on the practice.

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