Amnesty International obtained the government reports, compiled in 2013 and 2015, that allegedly outline the mistreatment of children at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville and Brisbane Youth Detention Centre.

Amnesty International released the documents to ABC program 7.30.

In a statement released on Thursday, Amnesty International said the 1000-page documents showed a "culture of abuse and secrecy going back many years" that detailed alleged abuse and mistreatment against children in detention.

The release of the documents prompted a renewed call for the Royal Commission into Youth Detention in the Northern Territory to be expanded to include Queensland.

A spokeswoman for federal Attorney-General George Brandis dismissed calls to widen the scope of the royal commission.

"It is important that the royal commission is focused so that these matters that have been exposed can be inquired into urgently and within a short time frame so that any necessary remedial action can be put in place without delay," she said.

"The recommendations and findings of this royal commission are expected to be of use to other jurisdictions when they are considering how their juvenile detention systems can be improved."

The human rights organisation outlined several incidents from the documents relating to the Townsville centre, including an instance in January 2013 in which a 17-year-old boy, identified as being a high suicide risk, was held down on the floor by staff members after refusing to return to his room.

The staff allegedly took the boy into an isolation cell where they "cut his clothing and underpants off with a knife", an Amnesty International statement read.

"The boy was left naked in the cell for over an hour, before being given a gown to wear."

The Queensland inspectorate recommended an internal review, Amnesty International said, however there was no reference in the documents to one having been done.

CCTV images also show the use of a dog at the Townsville facility in August 2015 where a guard lets a dog with a muzzle approach an Indigenous girl in "an aggressive manner" as she is trying to get out of a pool.

The documents also outline frequent attempts at self-harm or suicide at Cleveland Youth Detention Centre, with 31 incidents reported last year, up from 20 in 2014.

The human rights group is calling for an independent body, separate from the Queensland government, to investigate allegations of abuse in detention.

Professor Gracelyn Smallwood, who worked at the centre on and off for two decades, said it was "traumatic" watching the footage, shown to her by 7.30.

"I worked on and off for 20 years as a casual nurse but I had never seen that ever – not to say that it is not happening, but the nurse is not involved in any of the take-downs, we come after the fact," she said.

"I was very traumatised. It looked like something out of Mississippi Burning, the little boy chained reminded me of Don Dale (Youth Detention Centre).

"It traumatised quite a number of people in the room."

She said the Townsville centre needed to be included in the royal commission into youth detention in the Northern Territory.

"It is really quite scary. I don't know why it is not happening. The government don't like inquiries, especially if they get the blame," she said.

Graham Pattel worked at the facility for eight years and said he was sacked in 2015 under the Public Service Act for speaking out about the situation on social media.

Mr Pattel said the centre was a "toxic" environment and alleged that kids were often "bashed" and "humiliated".

"There was a boy in there, they brought his son in, they had him in handcuffs when they brought his kid in for visits, what did they think the kid was going to do?" he said.

"They had him handcuffed while he was holding his son. That is humiliation, you don't do that to people, you are talking about 16-year-old kids."

Mr Pattel said the staff didn't understand who their clientele were and said tailored training was needed for workers at the facility.

"There is a 98 per cent Indigenous incarceration rate in Cleveland, these kids come from very remote areas, english is their second, third language," he said.

"The training up here should be a lot different for workers because they don't understand who they are working with, they don't understand the clientele, if you can't communicate or understand where these kids come from, how are you going to assist them?

"We are supposed to be their role model to these kids, we are supposed to be helping to turn their lives around, not bashing them."

Former Cleveland Youth Detention Centre inmate Russell Johnson, 17, told ABC's Lateline how a guard spat in his food and he was the victim of regular "take-downs" during his time at the centre.

"They used to call me black dog, caged monkey, Abo, all sorts of filthy names, mother f---er. It used to hurt me," he said.

"I'd have bruising, swelling to my face and back. There was some days I couldn't walk because my back was so sore."

Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said allegations put to the department have been "thoroughly investigated".

"In Queensland all the allegations that have been put to the department over a number of years have been thoroughly investigated and referred to police or other investigative bodies where appropriate," she said.

"Incidents have been detailed in reports, and recommendations have been made for reform and been put into action.

"When problems have been identified over the years, those problems have been addressed through changes to policies and procedures.

"This has also seen dismissal of staff where inappropriate behaviour was identified."

Ms D'Ath said she cannot respond to the details of each and every individual matter but welcomed the public to make a complaint that she said would be addressed in a "transparent and appropriate" manner.

"If permission is given by individuals to discuss their particular matters, I would be in a position to discuss details of a particular matter in more detail," she said.

"Unless that occurs, I am restricted from discussing details by the Youth Justice Act – restrictions that are in place to protect the privacy and interests of the young people themselves."

"This government is committed to youth justice policy that is based on evidence.  We want to provide the education, training, trauma care and support that is required to turn the lives of these young people around, help them contribute in years to come and in doing so help deliver a safer community for everyone."

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