Baltara Reception Centre

Baltara was a former government-run institution for boys located in Parkville, Melbourne. It opened in October 1968 on the same property as Turana Youth Training Centre and closed in 1991. The Centre accommodated boys aged 10 to 15 years of age who were predominantly Wards of the State of Victoria and who were awaiting placement in children’s homes. By 1983, Baltara consisted of five accommodation areas:

• Kinta - housing up to 20 older boys, including those who had been convicted of sexual offences;

• Mawarra - housing up to 20 mixed-aged boys;

• Warrawong - this was a high-security section which housed up to 20 serious offenders and habitual absconders;

• Akora - housing up to 20 boys who were deemed less mature or who had physical or mental disabilities; and

• The Oaks - an offsite accommodation which housed up to five boys who had been convicted or were deemed to have a strong pattern of sex offending.

In 2015, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse heard from former residents of Baltara and published in Case Study No. 30 that sexual, physical and emotional abuse perpetrated by staff members, social workers and other residents was prevalent in youth detention centres across Victoria, including Baltara. Many former residents of Baltara reported an old-school system of brutal care, of being punched by officers, of being sexually abused by staff members in which nothing was done to prevent it or stop it, and if residents did report it, they were often punished for doing so.

Moody Law has in the past and is still representing clients against the State of Victoria who have made allegations of sexual and physical abuse whilst they were placed within a government-run institution in Victoria.

We invite former victims to tell us confidentially what information they may have, and we will explain what options are available to help with these cases.

Call us or complete the confidential enquiry form below.