Staff are so overrun that they do not have time to file incident reports, while detainees are being kept in their rooms for exceedingly long times.

Some did not have adequate time or privacy to prepare statements for the Commission of Inquiry given their overwhelming workloads.

Youth worker Sarah Spence said staff faced risks every day.

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"On my last shift that I did, I could have written multiple detention offences and I didn't get a chance to ... the moment the shift finished I just wanted to go straight home because we're not safe," she said.

"When you're working with staff who can't restrain aggressive young people who, due to the fact that we're in rolling restrictive practices - so rolling lockdowns - because we don't have the staff when they do come out, obviously they're heightened."

The two workers said they have felt unsupported by the government, claiming there was an unwillingness to give staff the resources to run Ashley the way it was intended.

"At the moment, due to the lack of staff, we've had to keep the young people in their room for longer periods than normal and let them out at different times rather than altogether," Ms Spence said.

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"It was just extremely unsafe for everyone - for them and for us."

Ashley is scheduled to be closed in 2024, but there were concerns about the two years that remained.

Colleen Ray said the upcoming closure had put staff in a difficult situation.

"What we do in the meantime to make the place safe? I've got people falling over everywhere that I know," she said.

"I'm just astounded about the people that are there and have gone, about their mental health, and the fact that they haven't really been looked after the way they should have been.

"That to me is so poor. The WorkCover says that you can go to work and come home safely, well that's not what's happening because staff at Ashley Youth Detention Centre are having their mental health damaged every day without the right procedures in place to help maintain a healthy lifestyle."

The Commission of Inquiry earlier heard evidence from two former detainees who alleged systemic sexual and physical abuse carried out by a group of guards.

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