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 The court has ordered that the names of the applicants not be published, which is why they appear as BIJ23 and BIK23.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 were handed down on 8 December 2025. To access them, please click here.
To register your details please complete the form above.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Please read the most common questions and answers below.
-
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.
16 December 2025
Update on the Banksia Hill and Unit 18 Class Actions
As you may know, on Friday 21 November 2025 the State of Western Australia filed its Defences to our Statements of Claim for both the Banksia Hill and Unit 18 Class Actions.
The State’s Defences are complex legal documents and are more than 700 pages long.
The legal team of lawyers and barristers working on the Class Actions have been reading and considering the State’s Defences as they draft a reply, which is to be filed in Court by the end of February 2026.
Documents to be provided by the State
We have requested that the State provide us with relevant documents which will be used to prepare evidence in support of our claims.
The first bundle of documents will be provided by the State on 22 December 2025, with the second bundle on 6 February 2026.
Each bundle will contain thousands of documents for the legal team to read and consider and will require a significant amount of time and attention.
We will provide you with a further update in early March 2026. We appreciate your patience and thank you for your cooperation.
Child Sexual Abuse Claims
We again remind you that it is important that you speak to a lawyer before you accept an offer of redress under the National Redress Scheme (NRS) so that you can make an informed choice about the best option for you.
If you have any questions or would like legal advice about sexual abuse you suffered in detention, you can send us an email, a text, or call us on 0407 506 460.
Unit 18: in the media
Coronial inquest into death of Late Cleveland Dodd
