Youth Justice

• Raising the age of detention to 14 years does not go far enough

  8th Jun 2022

  Plans announced today to raise the age of detention in Tasmania do not go far enough to address the issues in the youth justice system, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Banksia Hill conditions are an appalling breach of human rights: reform is urgent

  19th Apr 2022

  Conditions at Banksia Hill youth detention facility indicate clear breaches of children’s human rights and show that little has been learnt from the Northern Territory’s Don Dale Royal Commission, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Age of criminal responsibility must not be lower than 14 years

  15th Nov 2021

  The age of criminal responsibility in Australia must be raised to at least 14 years as recommended by the United Nations.

• ALA welcomes closure of Ashley Youth Detention Centre

  9th Sep 2021

  The Government’s decision to close the Ashley Youth Detention Centre has been welcomed by lawyers who say that it is imperative that this opportunity for a complete overhaul of the youth justice system in Tasmania is not squandered.

• Proposed NT youth justice laws are a backward step & will not make the community safer

  11th May 2021

  The Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 being proposed by the NT Government is a backwards step that contradicts all the principles of effective youth justice, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Proposed youth justice reforms in NT will not make the community safer

  24th Mar 2021

  The reforms to youth justice laws proposed by the Northern Territory government yesterday will not make communities safer and contradict the recommendations of the Royal Commission into the detention of children in the NT, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Juvenile crime laws will not make communities safer

  22nd Mar 2021

  The measures proposed in the Youth Justice and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 will not make communities safer, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) in a submission to the Queensland government.

• Protecting everyone’s rights benefits us all

  11th Mar 2021

  Australia’s human rights performance was closely scrutinised in the UN’s recent Universal Periodic Review. Hugh de Kretser discusses the review’s recommendations to improve our rights protection, and outlines its concerns on issues including Australia’s low age of criminal responsibility, economic hardship during COVID-19, the Government’s response to climate change, and the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and of refugees and people seeking asylum.

• Youth crime crackdown will not create safer Queensland communities

  9th Feb 2021

  Measures announced today designed to address youth crime will not work to make the community safer, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Don Dale ruling a strong message against use of force on children

  11th Jun 2020

  Greg Barns discusses the High Court’s decision, on 3 June, that the use of tear gas on four youths at the NT’s Don Dale detention centre was unlawful. He explores the implications of this decision, suggesting that it illustrates the need for discussion about changing the culture of dealing with young people who intersect with the criminal justice system.

• High Court Don Dale ruling: timely reminder that police & prison officers need to follow the law

  3rd Jun 2020

  Today’s High Court decision, which found that the tear-gassing of four teenagers in Darwin's Don Dale Youth Detention Centre was unlawful, holds the prison system to account for the inhumane treatment of the teenagers in their care.

• Lawyers urge Council of Attorney Generals to raise age of criminal responsibility

  18th Feb 2020

  The age of criminal responsibility must be raised to 14 years in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has told the Council of Attorney Generals in a submission today.

• Solitary confinement report shows alarming breach of duty of care: State liable for compensation

  6th Sep 2019

  The state has breached its duty of care and could be liable for millions of dollars in compensation, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) in response to the alarming findings disclosed in the recent Victorian Ombudsman’s report into the use of solitary confinement in youth detention facilities.

• Age of criminal responsibility must be raised in current Youth Justice Amendment Bill

  27th May 2019

  The age of criminal responsibility in the NT should have been raised as part of the Youth Justice and Related Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 that is currently under review, say lawyers.

• Treatment of young people in detention is a national crisis, say lawyers

  13th May 2019

  Tonight’s Four Corners episode showing children locked up in adult watch-houses in Queensland makes it clear that Australia is failing in its duty of care to young people, according to the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Imprisoning children – what is going wrong?

  25th Aug 2016

  'You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view' - Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird may have very simply summarised how we should treat children who act out. In light of this, Zoe Le Quesne discusses what is going wrong in the youth justice system, and why it needs to change.