We are changing the way youth justice works in the ACT.

Research shows children and young people need support, not punishment. That means helping them explore and address the reasons behind their behaviour. We want to focus on helping young people feel safe, supported and understood.

Our goal is to stop children and young people from getting involved in crime in the first place, and to better support those already involved in the youth justice system. We want to help them take responsibility for their actions, learn from them and reduce the chance of getting into trouble again.

We recognise the urgent need to improve outcomes for young people and reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in the youth justice system.

We want to make the ACT’s youth justice system more supportive, fair, inclusive and focused on helping young people heal, learn and grow. A system that also makes the wider community safer.

This work covers many areas and we will be asking for your feedback at different times. Here you can find out what we are currently working on and how you can get involved.

Youth justice is a responsibility of the ACT Government. It covers policing, courts, youth detention centres and supervision when a young person is supported in the community.

Australian youth justice systems are facing complex challenges. These include young people engaging in harmful behaviour, community concerns about youth crime and community safety, and increased public and political scrutiny.

While these challenges are serious, they also present opportunities to make changes and do things better. With the right approach, we can improve outcomes for young people involved in the youth justice system. Stronger outcomes for young people also make the wider community safer.

Improving the ACT youth justice system is a key priority. We want to support children and young people early so they get the help they need and are less likely to enter the system in the first place. We also want to help those already involved with the youth justice system to heal, grow, return safely to the community and not reoffend.

Our work is grounded in evidence and guided by various independent reviews, inquiries, consultations and national standards, strategies and agreements. It also builds on other key reforms we are doing, especially raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility and implementing Next Steps for Our Kids 2022-2030.

We value your feedback. It will help us build a youth justice system that better supports young people every step of the way, and creates a safer community for everyone.