An Aboriginal Territorian who alleges he was abused while incarcerated in Alice Springs will challenge NT laws in the Federal Court that limit compensation for people harmed by the government while incarcerated, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency has said, adding the case is about accountability and ensuring the government is “behaving lawfully and appropriately”.

The Federal Court proceedings were filed by NAAJA on behalf of Jermahl Ebatarinja, who is alleged to have been subjected to two assaults, 11 batteries and was “unlawfully separated by youth justice officers when he was 16 years old and detained in the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre in 2022”, NAAJA said in a statement.

NAAJA civil managing lawyer Andrew Roberts said the case will challenge the validity of provisions in the Personal Injuries (Liabilities and Damages) Act, which places limits on what compensation is available to people who have been victims of intentional wrongdoing by the government while in prison. That includes children in youth detention.

“This case is about Government accountability,” Mr Roberts said.

“If it was an individual who broke the law they would have to pay, but rather than taking responsibility for its failings and addressing the problems in youth detention, the NT Government chose instead to weaken a crucial accountability mechanism and reduce the compensation that they must pay prisoners harmed in their care.”

Amendments to the Act were passed by Parliament in 2022 to limit the amount paid to people in custody following the Don Dale Youth Justice Class Action. Under the current laws, damages are capped regardless of how serious or deliberate the misconduct inflicted upon people under the care of the government is.

Mr Roberts said people subjected to illegal strip searches can currently only be awarded $6,250. The same amount is the cap for illegal battery and $3,125 for an illegal assault.

If someone is falsely imprisoned for 60 days or more, the maximum they can be awarded is $312.50 per day.

A series of “civil wrongs” against prisoners is capped at $18,750.

Mr Roberts said the caps remove the court’s powers to award additional damages to compensate for “particularly insulting or humiliating misconduct, and exemplary damages which punish an offender who has engaged in serious wrongdoing, particularly in instances where governments have abused their power”.

A recent High Court decision that awarded $50,000 of exemplary damages each to four men illegally teargassed while detained at Don Dale in 2014, as well as general and aggravated damages, would not have been permitted under the current laws, “despite the High Court describing the Northern Territory’s conduct as reprehensible”, Mr Roberts said.

“Cases like [Mr Ebatarinja’s] are about accountability,” he said.

“They are one of the fundamental ways Territorians can hold the NT Government to account and ensure it is behaving lawfully and appropriately.”

The NT Government was contacted for comment.