The State Government is moving to strengthen youth bail and sentencing laws, to ensure they effectively deal with serious repeat young offenders.
Although ABS data shows SA has the lowest youth offender rate of any state, and behind only the ACT, we know a small number of serious repeat young offenders are responsible for a disproportionate level of offending, with data from the Courts Administration Authority showing 20 youths were responsible for between 11 and 13 percent of all charges laid in the Youth Court.
The State Government is taking action under the Young Offender Plan, aimed at strengthening laws for repeat offenders, and investing to break the cycle of offending before young offenders become entrenched in the criminal justice system.
As part of the Young Offender Plan, the Government has proposed draft laws that would automatically declare those who repeatedly commit serious crimes as recidivist young offenders.
The draft laws would also add a presumption against bail in cases where a recidivist young offender has been taken into custody for a serious offence.
These changes would mean it would be harder for recidivist young offenders to get bail and more serious consequences would apply if they offend in the future.
Additionally, the Government is investing $3 million over 3 years from the Justice Rehabilitation Fund (JRF) for targeted intervention programs to break the cycle of a small group of repeat young offenders.
The Department of Human Services will lead the development of these individualised and clinically and culturally-informed programs. There will be a particular focus on ensuring the young people can access relevant schemes which already exist, such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The State Government is today releasing the draft bill for consultation with key stakeholders, as well as making it available to the general public.
To view the draft bill, and to make a submission, click here.
Submissions are due by Wednesday 20 August 2025.
As put by Kyam Maher
While South Australia has the lowest young offender rate of any state in the nation,
we know that there are a small cohort of young offenders who are responsible for a disproportionate rate of offending. The justice system needs improvements to better respond to these serious repeat young offenders.
These changes are designed to ensure courts have the power to hand down tough penalties when needed to ensure the most serious youth offenders find it more difficult to get bail and will face more serious consequences for their actions.
At the same time, we're investing $3 million in intervention programs to break the cycle of reoffending, and help young offenders avoid becoming adult offenders.
While we strengthen bail and sentencing laws, it is crucial that targeted, effective treatment, diversion and therapeutic responses are in place to ensure that the young offenders of today do not come become adult offenders in the future.
