Officials in Victoria have set a target of zero Aboriginal young people in custody, regardless of any legislative change. The Youth Justice Commissioner, Andrea Davidson, discussed the goal during a hearing with the Yoorrook Justice Commission, saying that achieving it was unashamed and something authorities were committed to reaching. While significant progress has been made in reducing the number of Aboriginal young people in custody, the Youth Justice deputy secretary stated that the current number was still “grossly too high”. As of Wednesday, there were 11 Aboriginal young people in custody, with nine held on remand and two sentenced. The recent opening of a new youth detention facility at Cherry Creek has been criticised for contradicting attempts to keep Aboriginal children out of custody. Davidson admitted that the new facility was “certainly not cause for celebration”, but suggested that it would be able to provide more specialised care for children with complex needs. However, the acute staffing shortages in youth custody over the past few months had caused lockdowns and were compromising the children’s education and human rights. Youth Justice was in the process of implementing a workforce strategy to address the issue.