Workers at a problematic Victorian youth justice centre were compensated almost $7 million for occupational violence that happened in the years before it closed.
Data obtained under freedom of information legislation reveals hundreds of assaults inside Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre.
The Victorian government has reopened the centre and Labor is pledging to use it to rehabilitate low- and mid-level youth offenders.
Justin White had been working at a youth justice centre unit in Victoria for a matter of weeks when he was violently assaulted by a group of inmates armed with a plastic cricket bat.
He said the life-altering attack at Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre in October 2019 happened on a day when the mood had been "deteriorating quickly".
"I clearly was the target and then that descended into what became a gang assault, which I'm still living with today," Mr White said.
"I genuinely thought I wasn't going to come out of it. It's only because of the actions of others that I did."
Mr White is still unable to work due to severe PTSD.
Mr White sustained spinal fractures, as well as a traumatic head injury that has affected his cognitive functioning.
He continues to battle post-concussion syndrome.
Three of his colleagues received bravery awards for trying to intervene and stop the attack.
