2024
Help Way Earlier!
“Tragically, by not addressing their human rights early on, and instead taking a punitive approach to their offending, we are essentially criminalising some of the most vulnerable children in Australia.”
National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds
2019
‘A Blueprint for Change’
Diagrama Foundation
This report looks at applying an alternative approach to Aboriginal Youth Justice in the NT based on a highly successful model from Spain where Youth Justice services are run by Non-Government organisations.
2024
Youth Justice Blueprint 2024-2034
Tasmania’s 10 year plan to build a best-practice approach to children and young people in conflict with the law including a therapeutic model of care for youth justice; raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 and raising the age of detention to 16 years.
2024
From those who know.
minimum age of criminal responsibility
South Australian Guardian for Children and Young People, Shona Reid provides a report using the "direct words" of young people incarcerated, speaking out about "what's gone wrong in their lives, what they need and what would work going forward".
2020
Disability Screening Project Assessment Report
The aims of the screening project were to identify the prevalence of disability-related needs in young people in detention at Adelaide’s Youth Training Centre to inform both Youth Justice Assessment and Intervention Services (YJAIS) service development, and strategic planning for the Youth Justice Services division of the Department for Human Services (DHS).
2024
Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility- alternative diversion model
A Discussion Paper inviting submissions on raising the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (MACR), currently 10 years in SA
Attorney General’s Department,
Government of South Australia
March 2025
Offending by Young People in South Australia
This Briefing Paper outlines current trends in offending in young people in South Australia.
SACOSS
May 2024
Holding on to Our Future- Final Report
An independent Inquiry into the application of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle in the removal and placement of Aboriginal children engaged with the child protection in South Australia.
Commissioner for Aboriginal Children
and Young People
April 2025
Rates, causes, and risk factors for death among justice-involved young people in Australia: a retrospective, population-based data linkage study
A 20 year retrospective study has concluded that justice-involved young people are at markedly increased risk of premature death from largely preventable causes. The most common causes of death were suicide, transport accidents and accidental drug-related deaths. More than half the deaths occurred before age 25 and less than 2% occurred in custody.
Stuart A Kinner et al
The Lancet, Vol 10 April 2025