Smart Justice for Young People

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We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we operate, the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung and Bunurong Peoples of the Kulin Nation. We extend this acknowledgement to all First Nations’ Peoples and pay our respects to their Elders past and present and acknowledge sovereignty was never ceded.

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  • Improve the way youth victims are currently identified and supported to recover (including where they have also offended) and ensure that the system is child-centred, gender, culture and trauma informed and meeting their needs, in particular those who are over-represented in the criminal justice system.
  • The CCYP and Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People in conjunction with other key statutory organisations including the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC), Victoria Police, Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) and Victims of Crime Commission engage with media outlets on issues of youth crime and the serious harms that can be caused through incomplete and/or inaccurate reporting to Victorians impacted and affected by over-representation in consultation with community organisations.
  • Increase the mandate of the Youth Referral and Independent Person Program (YRIPP) to 25 and require that the option of an Independent Person is provided to any young person under 18 years even when a parent/guardian is available. Mandate pre-interview legal assistance and post interview legal and non-legal referrals, considering information sharing and privacy considerations.
  • Victorian Government fully implement the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) in relation to treatment and conditions in police custody, prison and other places of detention, including the establishment of a National Preventive Mechanism whose operations, policies, frameworks and governance are culturally appropriate and safe for First Nations people and other criminalised racial groups.
  • Youth Justices and Corrections Victoria end solitary confinement for people aged 25 years and under. • Ensure all children and young people 25 years and under are eligible to apply for parole and able to be represented. The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 and rules of natural justice should apply and allow for applicants to be legally represented.
  • The Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP) introduce a new Director’s Policy regarding best practice treatment of child and youth victims, witnesses and those who are accused where they are the prosecuting agency.
  • Mandate full physical, mental, language, neurological and cognitive health checks to all young people under 25 entering into custody to ensure proper through care whilst in the criminal justice system and post care, once they formally depart the criminal justice system.