Quick Facts
Biography
Dylan Voller (1997 - ) is an Aboriginal man from Alice Springs who came to public attention over his treatment in youth detention in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Early life
Voller has been in and out of juvenile detention since he was 11 years old, for car theft, robbery and assault. He spent time in Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre and the behavioural management unit at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Darwin. During that time he was restrained by the neck, physically thrown into his cell, isolated, stripped naked and tear gassed.
Royal Commission
Footage of Voller shackled to a restraining chair in a spit-hood was featured on the ABC TV program Four Corners' episode "Australia's Shame" in July 2016. It caused widespread outrage and prompted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to announce a royal commission into the treatment of youth in the child protection and youth detention systems in the Northern Territory. Mistreatment in youth detention had been widely reported prior to the Four Corners report.
He has publicly apologised for his crimes.
Voller gave evidence at the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory in December 2016.
He was released from prison in February 2017 and has been advocating for improved conditions for youth in detention.
In 2017 it was discovered that Voller's confidential files were dumped at the Alice Springs rubbish tip.