Former detainees of Ashley Youth Detention Centre, which has operated for more than two decades, have alleged they were raped, bashed and sexually assaulted by guards at the facility.
A commission of inquiry into child sexual abuse in Tasmania's public institutions will on Monday continue hearings examining the centre.
A former manager of professional services and policy at Ashley is among the witnesses, with senior department officials expected to give evidence later in the week.
Counsel assisting the inquiry, Rachel Ellyard, has indicated the commission has received evidence of abuse in recent years and dating back to the early 2000s.
One former detainee told the inquiry he was repeatedly raped by guards and his medication was withheld until he performed sexual acts.
Director of Custodial Youth Justice, Pamela Honan, who began the role in 2019, told the inquiry on Friday that Ashley staff "minimised" an attempted sexual assault by detainees on another detainee as "horsing around".
"The evidence ... will be confronting and distressing," Ms Ellyard said during opening submissions.
The state government in September pledged to close the centre by 2024 and set up two smaller facilities. It has insisted all current detainees are safe.
The inquiry has been told the centre in recent years has held 10 to 15 children at any one time.
Ms Ellyard described the centre as having a culture of brutality and said multiple reports to government raising concerns had not been properly acted upon.
More than 100 former detainees earlier this month filed Supreme Court legal action against the government, alleging abuse at the centre.
Amnesty International on Friday called for the state government to immediately close the centre.
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