JUVENILE JUSTICE IN QLD ‘ADULT CRIME, ADULT TIME’ IS A RHYMING NON SEQUITUR”
Aristotle – injustice
1. "It is unjust to treat equals unequally; it is equally unjust to treat unequals equally." – Aristotle[1].
2. The “Adult Crime, Adult Time” legislation is unjust as it treats children equally to adults with whom children are unequal.
Repugnancy of legislation
3. The legislation is also repugnant as it is:
a. contrary to the welfare of children and their future as adults; and
b. counter-productive to reducing crime rates by incarcerating minor young offenders with more serious offenders likely to give post-graduate guides to serious crime.
Legislation – 2024
4. On 26 October 2024 a Queensland election was held resulting in a change of government.
5. On 28 November 2024 the incoming government introduced the Making Queensland Safer (Adult Crime, Adult Time )Bill .
Extract from Explanatory Notes to Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024
6. “Explanatory Notes
(Page 1 of Explanatory Notes) Short title
The short title of the Bill is the Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024 (the Bill).
Policy objectives and the reasons for them
The overarching objective of the Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024 (the Bill) is to give effect to the Government’s election commitment to implement legislative reforms as part of the Making Queenslander Safer Plan (the Plan), including ‘adult crime, adult time’.
The Plan is the direct response of the Government to growing community concern and
outrage over crimes being perpetrated by young offenders. Legislative reforms in the Plan being implemented in this Bill include introducing ‘adult crime, adult time’, removing the principle of detention as a last resort, and promoting the consideration of the impact of youth offending on victims during sentencing.
The Bill aims to hold young offenders who commit offences (particularly serious offences) to account by ensuring that courts are having primary regard to the impact of youth offending on victims and can impose appropriate penalties that meet community expectations. The amendments in the Bill further a range of purposes to achieve this – including, for example, punishment, denunciation, putting the rights of victims ‘front and centre’ in the youth justice process and promoting open justice and public confidence in the justice system. The Government is committed to implementing a range of measures to deter young people from committing serious crimes in the community, and reducing the number of victims that are caused harm by these young offenders. The amendments in the Bill will demonstrate to the community that youth offending is treated seriously and will increase community confidence in the justice system.
The key objectives of the Bill will be achieved by:
• amending the Youth Justice Act 1992 (Youth Justice Act) to:
o introduce ‘adult crime, adult time’;
o remove the principles of detention as a last resort and that a non- custodial order is better than detention in promoting a child’s ability to reintegrate into the community; o promote the consideration of the impacts of offending on victims in the Charter of Youth Justice Principles and when sentencing a child; o ensure a child’s criminal history reflects their full history; o enable a person’s child criminal history to be admitted when sentenced as an adult;
Page 1Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024
o default to an ‘opt out’ mechanism for victims on the victim information register;
o alter the process relating to the transfer of 18-year-olds from youth detention centres to adult correctional centres;
• amending the Childrens Court Act 1992 (Childrens Court Act) to: o ensure the victim, relatives of a victim and accredited media can be
present during criminal proceedings…
(Page 2 of Explanatory Notes)Achievement of policy objectives
To achieve its policy objectives, the Bill makes the following amendments:
Adult crime, adult time
The Bill amends the Youth Justice Act to remove the current restrictions on minimum, mandatory and maximum sentences for children for the following offences in the Criminal Code:
• murder (section 302, 305);
• manslaughter (section 303, 310);
Page 2Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024
• unlawful striking causing death (section 314A);
• acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm and other malicious acts (section
317);
• grievous bodily harm (section 320);
• wounding (section 323);
• dangerous operation of a vehicle (section 328A);
• serious assault (section 340);
• unlawful use or possession of motor vehicles, aircraft or vessels (section 408A);
• robbery (section 409, 411);
• burglary (section 419);
• entering or being in premises and committing indictable offences (section 421); and
• unlawful entry of vehicle for committing indictable offence (section 427).
The Bill provides that if a court is sentencing a child for one of these offences, the court may order that the child be placed on probation for a period not longer than three years or detained for a period not more than the maximum penalty that an adult convicted of the offence could be ordered to serve. This lifts the maximum periods of probation and detention orders that can currently be imposed for these offences under section 175 and 176 of the Youth Justice Act to align the sentences that can be imposed on children
with adult penalties.
The Bill also provides that a requirement under the Criminal Code that a term of imprisonment must be the penalty, or a part of the penalty, for the offence, is taken to be a requirement that a period of detention must be the penalty, or part of the penalty for the offence.
The Bill further provides that a requirement under the Criminal Code that a minimum term of imprisonment must be served for the offence is taken to be a requirement that a minimum period of detention must be served for the offence.
This means that a child who is sentenced for these offences will be liable to the same minimum and mandatory sentences that apply to an adult, namely:
• mandatory life detention with a minimum non-parole period of 20 years for murder (or 25 years for murder of a police officer or 30 years for murder of more than one person or by a person with a previous murder conviction);
• if a child is sentenced to life detention (other than for murder), the child will be eligible for release after serving 15 years;
• if a child is sentenced to serve a period of detention for unlawful striking causing death, unless a conditional release order is made, the child must serve the lesser of 80% of the sentence or 15 years;
• detention must form whole or part of the punishment for dangerous operation of a vehicle with a circumstance of aggravation relating to previous conviction under section 328A(3) of the Criminal Code; and
• if a child is sentenced for an offence of grievous bodily harm, serious assault (in certain circumstances) or wounding committed in a public place while adversely affected by an intoxicating substance, they must be sentenced to a community service order. Consistent with what occurs for adults, there is no requirement for the child to consent to the community service order. The minimum and Page 3Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024 maximum period for community service orders will still be governed by the Youth Justice Act…
(Page 5 of Explanatory Notes) Removing detention as a last resort and primary regard to victims in sentencing The Bill amends the Youth Justice Act to remove the principle of detention as a last resort and the principle that a non-custodial order is better than detention in promoting a child’s ability to reintegrate into the community.
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Legislation non-compliant with Human Rights
7. The legislation does not comply with the provisions of the Human Rights Act 2019.
8. In a Statement of Compatibility (with the Human Rights Act) Attorney-General Deb Frecklington MP observed:
“I accept that the amendments are in conflict with international standards regarding the best interests of the child with respect to children in the justice system, and are therefore incompatible with human rights.”[2]
9. The Attorney-General makes an astonishing admission in that Statement of Compatibility:
“I also recognise that, according to international human rights standard, the negative impact on the rights of children likely outweighs the legitimate aims of punishment and denunciation. The amendments will lead to sentences for children that are more punitive than necessary to achieve community safety.
Inadequate review by Parliamentary Committee
10. A report of the Parliamentary Justice , Integrity and Community Safety Committee on the legislation was tabled 6 December 2024. It included the following executive summary.
“Executive Summary
On 28 November 2024, the Hon David Crisafulli MP, Premier and Minister for
Veterans, introduced the Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024 (Bill) into the Queensland Parliament. The Bill was referred to the Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee (the committee) for urgent consideration.
The primary objective of the Bill is ‘to hold young offenders who commit offences (particularly serious offences) to account by ensuring that courts are considering the impacts of offending on victims and can impose appropriate penalties that meet community expectations’.
Stakeholders were invited to make written submissions on the Bill and the committee received and accepted 176 submissions including 7 submissions which were confidential (and not published on the committee’s webpage).
The committee received a written briefing on 29 November 2024 and public briefing on 2 December 2024 from the Department of Justice and the Department of Youth Justice and Victim Support.
The committee also heard from stakeholders at public hearings in Brisbane on 2 December 2024 and Townsville on 3 December 2024.
The key issues raised during the committee’s examination of the Bill included:
• impacts of the wider ‘opening’ of Children’s Court proceedings on young offenders and victims
• how the removal of the principle of ‘detention as a last resort’ from the Youth Justice Act 1992
(YJ Act) will change how children are sentenced and the number of children in detention
• implementation of the new sentencing regime for children who commit prescribed serious offences (known as ‘adult crime, adult time’)
• elevation of the impact on victims as the primary consideration when sentencing children under the YJ Act
• expansion of the historical information included in a child’s criminal history and the use of such history when making sentencing decisions for adult offending
• amendment to the ‘status quo’ process for the transfer of young offenders from youth detention centres to adult correctional facilities when they reach the age of 18 years old
• the significance of the change to an ‘opt out’ system for victims to receive updates regarding the young person who committed an offence against them…”
11. The time allowed for public submissions to the Parliamentary Committee was manifestly inadequate. The Bill was introduced to Parliament on Thursday 28
November 2024 setting a very short deadline of Friday 6 December. On
Friday 29 November the Committee set a deadline of 12 noon Tuesday 3 December (allowing only one clear working day) for submissions to be prepared and filed.
12. This brazen abuse of the Parliamentary Committee system is all the more concerning as Queensland does not have an Upper House of Review.
Subsequent amendment to legislation
13. On April Fool’s Day 2025 the government presented to Parliament a further amendment to the legislation to introduce ‘adult crime, adult time’ for an additional 20 criminal offences under the Criminal Code and Drugs Misuse
Act 1986, including:‘[3]
a. Going armed so as to cause fear
b. Threatening violence
c. Attempt to murder
d. Accessory after the fact to murder
e. Assaulting a pregnant person and killing, or doing grievous bodily harm to, or transmitting a serious disease to the unborn child
f. Torture
g. Damaging emergency vehicle when operating motor vehicle
h. Endangering police officer when driving motor vehicle
i. Rape
j. Attempt to commit rape
k. Assault with intent to commit rape
l. Sexual assault, if involving any part of the mouth or while armed, in company, or involving penetration
m. Kidnapping
n. Kidnapping for ransom
o. Deprivation of liberty
p. Stealing, a vehicle or a firearm for use in another indictable offence
q. Attempted robbery, if armed or in company or armed and with violence r. Arson
s. Endangering particular property by fire
t. Trafficking in dangerous drugs.
14. The Bill was passed by the Parliament without amendment on 21 May 2025.
Adverse Impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
15. One must be concerned about the impact of the new laws on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are already seriously over-represented amongst the children in custody in Queensland.
16. The Human Rights Law Centre has observed4 :
“ Most children in custody in Queensland are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and most have complex health issues or disabilities. Over 70% of children in detention, and over 80% of 10-13 year olds in detention are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.5This is not because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children commit more crimes. It is because of systemic injustices such as discriminatory policing and limited access to support services. The Act will compound these injustices.”
Incorrect assessment of crime statistics – “ very sustained decreases and we’re talking over a decade worth of decreases in almost all oPences”
17.Premier Crisafulli has claimed on Monday 28 July 2025 that “victim numbers had fallen 5.7 per cent in one year following ‘Labor’s youth crime crisis’ ”.6 University of Queensland criminologist Associate Professor Renee Zahnow has said the premier’s claim “relied on two unrelated datasets, using incompatible metrics and incomplete data”.7 The premier’s ofice confirmed to ABC radio that his ‘victim number’ “was derived via a new maths equation, crunched using Queensland Police Service data”.[4] Associate Professor Renee Zahnow observed that “all credible criminological evidence suggested adult and youth crime rates had been decreasing for decades in Queensland under both LNP and Labor governments”.[5]
20. Grifith University School of Criminology researcher Dr James Ogilvie said “the premier’s one year figures ignored Queensland’s long term downward trends”. [6]Dr Ogilvie said “these downward trends began long before any sitting state or territory government. Under the old Labor government, there were very sustained decreases, and we’re talking over a decade worth of decreases in almost all oTences. That was never picked up on during the previous couple of election campaigns”.[7] In view of the above criminological evidence it is dificult to see any justification for the legislation overriding the Human Rights Act.
Conclusion
22.In the interests of our children I hope this odious legislation will be repealed sooner rather than later. I respectfully adopt the words of Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker) in her poem “Song of Hope”:
“To our fathers’ fathers,
The pain, the sorrow;
To our children’s children
The glad tomorrow.”
4 “Explainer: Making Queensland Safer Act 2024 “ page 2.
5 Productivity Commission Report on Government Services 2024 , table 17.A9
6 ABC Radio Brisbane Wednesday 30 July 2025 – abc.net.au
7 ibid
[1] Aristotle (384-382 BC) from “Nicomachian Ethics”
[2] Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024 – Statement of Compatibility page 4
[3] Qld Parliamentary Committee Report No.9
[5] ibid
[6] ibid
[7] ibid