Victoria's solution: Rebrand adult jail unit as youth facility

The Victorian government is scrambling to find a solution after an appeal court ruled that housing juvenile offenders in an adult prison is unlawful.

Screenshot from footage of a riot at the Parkville Youth Justice Centre in November Source: Nine Network

The Victorian government has rebranded a unit in Barwon prison as a youth justice facility after a court ruled housing juveniles in the adult jail was illegal.

The government revealed on Thursday the jail's Grevillea unit - where 12 youth offenders were unlawfully held in maximum security - can now operate as a youth justice facility and remand centre after orders made by the Governor in Council.

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday ordered the government to move the teenagers to a juvenile remand centre by Friday afternoon, after it upheld a finding that youths had been transferred to the unit in Barwon Prison unlawfully as the result of a "jurisdictional error".