- Published:
- Tuesday 29 October 2024 at 11:28 pm
Listening to children, young people and their communities is the key to keeping children out of the youth justice system.
First Nations community-led solutions will work and must be implemented, and Victoria’s Yoorrook Justice Commission has set out a clear pathway to do so.
We have drawn on the work of our specialist youth crime lawyers and our clients’ experiences of the youth justice and incarceration system, to make a submission to a Senate inquiry examining the outcomes and impacts of youth justice systems in Australia.
‘We welcome the opportunity to highlight not only the experiences of our clients but the clear and compelling recommendations of the Yoorrook Justice Commission,’ said Executive Director, Criminal Law, Kate Bundrock.
The Yoorrook for Justice report tells us that urgent and transformational reform is needed to address systemic racism and bias, which is leading to an overrepresentation of First Nations children and children of colour at all stages of the criminal legal system.
‘In Victoria we have made considerable progress towards truth and treaty, with the establishment of Yoorrook and the Treaty Authority,’ said First Nations Services Director Ashley Morris.
‘Yoorrook’s recommendations were made in direct response to the evidence Koori people provided to the commission about their experiences of historic and ongoing injustices.
‘Koori and First Nations people continue to experience the impact of inaction in responding to recommendations like Yoorrook’s, and from decades of past reviews and inquiries into First Nations peoples' over representation in the justice system,’ said Ashley.
Despite an overall reduction of children in the youth justice system in Victoria, First Nations children, children of colour, children with disabilities and children in state care, continue to be significantly overrepresented at all stages of the system.
‘By improving systems for the most marginalised in our community, we improve the system for all,’ said Kate.
Raising the age of criminal responsibility
In our submission we recommend that the age of criminal responsibility be raised to 14 across Australia.
‘Yoorrook described raising the age as the ‘simplest and most urgent reform’ to keep First Nations kids out of the system in the first place,’ said Ashley.
‘By failing to action the recommendations made by Yoorrook, we will continue to see First Nations children and young people overrepresented in the justice system.
‘We need young First Nations kids with their families and connected to Country and community, not tied up in ill-equipped systems that don't support their basic needs,’ said Ashley.
We encourage the Senate committee to consider what the Australian government can do to give effect to the recommendation to raise the age to 14, and to support a wealth of other First Nations-led initiatives designed to support young people to thrive away from the criminal legal system.
Keeping First Nations children out of custody
In March 2024 the Victorian government made changes to bail laws designed to reduce the overrepresentation of marginalised groups in the justice system and to stop people being remanded for minor offences.
Since then, we have actively monitored the effect of these reforms through our data drawn from representing almost all children who appear at the state-wide Weekend and Remand Online Court (WORC).
Our service data shows that while there has been a reduction in the number of children appearing before the WORC since the bail reforms took effect, that reduction is much smaller for First Nations children.
Spending time on remand is damaging for children and increases the likelihood of more offending, including as adults.
‘Our service data shows that First Nations children are not benefitting to the same extent from the bail reforms,' said Kate.
‘While we are talking about very small numbers of children, this reinforces the urgency of implementing Yoorrook’s recommendations for transformational change of the criminal legal and children protection systems.'
Listening to children, young people, families and communities
In our submission we urge the government to listen to the voices of children, young people, families and communities about their experience of the youth justice system and what would have helped them to avoid it.
The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Help way earlier! report, and the 2023–24 Youth Forum Report 1 coordinated by the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) both feature the direct views of young people of colour and their lived experience of the criminal legal system. Our youth, our way, from the CCYP and Ngaga-Dji from the Koorie Youth Council also highlight the urgent need for change.
‘We urge the Senate inquiry to place the recommendations of First Nations people at the centre of any recommendations it makes for change,’ said Kate.
Protecting children’s rights and meeting Australia’s international obligations
Our submission also reinforces our support for governments to implement Australia’s international obligations about the detention of children.
This includes raising the minimum age of detention to 16, prohibiting the use of solitary confinement, and giving effect to Australia’s obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.
Consistent with the recommendations of Yoorrook, we also reiterate our call for all Australian jurisdictions to have a fully independent and accessible police oversight mechanism.
We also highlight the importance of legal assistance for children, and that legal representation can help to ensure children’s human rights are protected and upheld.
Our submission also draws on our advocacy for the need to improve child protection and intervention order systems to prevent children and young people from entering the criminal justice system.
More information
Download our submission to the Senate inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system.
Read about our support for raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
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