Three teenagers are facing arson charges, accused of setting fire to a detention facility and causing significant damage.
Police were called to the Ashley Youth Detention Centre in Tasmania around 3pm on Sunday after reports of a disturbance involving three armed youths.
The trio, two aged 16 and one 15, allegedly set fire to a building while police were there. No one was injured.
They were charged on Monday with arson and destroying property and were scheduled to appear in a youth court.
A Tasmania Fire Service investigator and police forensic officers returned on Monday to the centre, which suffered "significant" damage to one area.
The centre's kitchen had been closed and the government was working with staff to ensure services and meals could be provided, Police Minister Felix Ellis said.
In its final report in 2023, an inquiry into child sexual abuse in state institutions recommended the centre be closed as soon as possible and noted it posed an ongoing abuse risk.
The state government in 2024 settled a $75 million class action with more than 100 former detainees who allegedly suffered serious injuries at the centre from 1961 to 2019.
The centre won't shut until the government has built a replacement youth detention facility, which is slated to be operational in 2028.
Mr Ellis said the government was keenly committed to helping young people get back on track with therapeutic rehabilitation.
