Youth Justice

• 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.