- Crisafulli Government is delivering on an election commitment, with a new Staying on Track youth offender rehabilitation program in Townsville to help restore safety where you live.
- Namu Collective will operate the 12-month post-detention rehabilitation program aimed at driving down youth reoffending.
- The Crisafulli Government is delivering a fresh start for Queensland with a $225 million investment in intensive rehabilitation to help restore safety where you live.
The Crisafulli Government is making Queensland safer by delivering a new post-detention intensive rehabilitation program for youth offenders in North Queensland.
The Staying on Track program – to be delivered by Namu Collective Pty Ltd – is offering up to 12 months of intensive rehabilitation for youths once they leave detention, including at least six months' intensive support to reintegrate them into the community and stop them falling back into the cycle of crime.
Youth offenders will be partnered with a personal mentor and receive tailored, high-intensity support to assist the transition back into the community and reduce the risk of re-offending.
These programs use a network of mentors, family support, and community engagement to help youth strengthen life skills, build positive relationships, and reduce reoffending, laying the foundation for long term change.
Under the former Labor Government, 94% of youth offenders leaving detention reoffended within a year.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering stronger laws, more police, early intervention and rehabilitation to restore safety where you live, making Queensland safer.
Premier David Crisafulli said the Government was delivering the fresh start Queenslanders voted for, exactly as promised.
"We are restoring safety where you live with intensive rehabilitation of youth offenders, to end the cycle of crime and help them stay on track," Premier Crisafulli said.
"This program will provide intensive, tailored support to help youth offenders re-enter education, find employment, and build positive connections in their communities.
"Labor's weak laws, fewer police and failure to rehabilitate young people created the Youth Crime Crisis, but we are delivering a fresh start.
"While we are seeing crime down and victim numbers down, there is much more to be done to make Queensland safer, and we remain committed to delivering the fresh start we promised."
Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support Laura Gerber said the program would be a critical step in breaking the cycle of repeat youth offending in Queensland.
"Staying on Track will provide intensive, tailored support to help youth offenders, make better, more positive choices, as they transition out of youth detention and back into the community," Minister Gerber said.
"The former Labor Government failed to invest in effective rehabilitation, which created a generation of serious repeat offenders.
"Staying on Track is about preventing re-offending, reducing the number of victims of crime, and making Queensland a safer place."
Member for Mundingburra Janelle Poole said investing in effective rehabilitation programs was crucial to driving down crime and reducing the number of victims.
"Staying on Track is about breaking the cycle of crime and giving youth offenders leaving detention the tools and support they need to make better choices, so they don't end up back in the system," Mrs Poole said.
Member for Townsville Adam Baillie said Staying on Track was key to preventing the next generation of repeat youth offenders.
"Police in Townsville are conducting a major crime crackdown in the North and have already arrested dozens of serious repeat offenders, and now we have Staying on Track to prevent them going on to reoffend," Mr Baillie said.
Member for Thuringowa Natalie Marr said this funding will help to restore safety to the community.
"Townsville has been the epicentre of Labor's Youth Crime Crisis and by implementing effective youth crime rehabilitation programs, alongside our tough new laws and more police, we will help restore safety to the North," Ms Marr said.
Namu Collective founder Genus Passi said that the Staying on Track program was an opportunity to create a different pathway for youth involved in the youth justice system.
"This program is promoting a cultural foundation and providing youth with the skills and capacity, along with their families, to develop and grow," Mr Passi said.
"Staying on Track is a twelve-month program, and we plan to use those twelve months to build a future for the young people,"
