Overview
- The upper house approved the Justice Legislation Amendment (Community Safety) Bill 30–8, shifting specified offences by 14-year-olds and up from the Children’s Court to the County Court.
- Aggravated home invasion and aggravated carjacking now carry maximum penalties of life imprisonment, up from 25 years, with the Children’s Court previously capped at three years for any offence.
- Maximum terms also increase to 25 years for intentionally causing serious injury in gross violence and to 20 years for recklessly causing serious injury, with recruiting a child to offend rising to 15 years.
- A new offence targets the use of knives during indictable crimes, carrying up to three years’ jail on top of any sentence.
- The government projects imprisonment for key youth offences will rise from 34% to 97% under adult sentencing and has pledged more judges, as Greens, rights bodies and several crossbench MPs warn of harm to children and rights breaches.