Overview
- Children aged 14 to 17 charged with eight violent offences, including aggravated home invasion, carjacking and gross‑violence injuries, would be moved from the Children’s Court to the County Court.
- Maximum penalties would rise sharply, lifting aggravated home invasion and aggravated carjacking from 25 years to possible life imprisonment, whereas the Children’s Court caps any single offence at three years.
- Sentencing rules would be rewritten to remove jail as a last resort for children and to prioritise community safety and victims, with the government citing data showing 34% custody in the Children’s Court versus 97% in adult courts for comparable offences.
- Premier Jacinta Allan also announced a new offence making the recruitment of a child to commit aggravated crimes punishable by life, while the maximum for recruiting a child to commit a violent offence would increase from 10 to 15 years.
- Ministers say legislation will be introduced before the end of 2025 and operational details are still being drafted, as legal, human-rights and Indigenous groups condemn the plan, the police union backs the direction, and the opposition urges a tougher model like Queensland’s.