UNIT 18 CLASS ACTION
BLJ AND ANOR V STATE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA WAD 109 OF 2023
Unit 18 is a unit within Casuarina maximum security adult prison, which has been housing juvenile detainees since July 2022.
The Unit 18 Class Action was filed in Federal Court by two applicants on behalf of current and former detainees of Unit 18. The court has ordered that the names of the applicants not be published, which is why they appear as BIJ23 and BIK23.
If you were transferred to Unit 18 from Banksia Hill, you can be a group member in both the Banksia Hill and Unit 18 Class Actions.
The conditions of detention at Unit 18 are different to those at Banksia Hill, which is why it is the subject of a separate class action.
To access the documents filed in the Federal Court, please click here.
Coronial Inquest into the death of Cleveland Dodd
Cleveland Dodd death by suicide marked Western Australia’s first juvenile death in custody and occurred while he was detained at Unit 18.
A coronial inquest into Cleveland’s death was held between April 2024 and June 2025, with Levitt Robinson Solicitors representing Cleveland’s family.
On 1 July 2025, Coroner Philip Urquhart handed down his preliminary findings and said, “No doubt from the evidence this inquest has revealed that youth justice was in crisis at the time of Cleveland’s death and had been for a considerable time” and foreshadowed recommending a special inquiry be established by the Public Sector Commission examine how Unit 18 came into existence.
As part of his preliminary recommendations on July 1, 2025, Coroner Urquhart said, “During Cleveland’s
last three months of his life, the department failed in its supervision, treatment and care of him”.
The court had been told in Cleveland’s final 93 days in custody, he was locked down in his cell for 22 hours or more on 77 of those days.
The Coroner’s Findings and Recommendations are expected to be handed down in late 2025.
To register your details please complete the form above.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Please read the most common questions and answers below.
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Levitt Robinson Solicitors represent the applicants in both the Banksia Hill and Unit 18 class actions, and are a firm of experienced class action lawyers and have run several successful class actions, including Wotton vs the State of Queensland. For more information on Levitt Robinson, click here.
Unit 18: in the media
