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Victoria will prosecute children as young as 14 in adult courts for serious violent offenses, Premier Jacinta Allan announced Wednesday, marking one of the most significant shifts in youth justice policy in Australian history. The legislation, which the government plans to introduce before year’s end, will remove specific violent crimes from Children’s Court jurisdiction and mandate trials in County Court where adult sentencing applies.
The policy will apply to seven categories of violent crimes, including aggravated home invasion, aggravated carjacking, armed robbery, and intentionally causing injury in circumstances of gross violence. Under current law, only 34% of young people convicted of aggravated home invasion or carjacking in Children’s Court receive jail sentences, compared to 97% in County Court. The maximum sentence in Children’s Court is three years, while the new legislation will allow life sentences for the most serious offenses.
Allan defended the approach as a response to what police have described as a “new type of offending” and victims who say the current system lacks adequate consequences. “Too many victims keep telling me that there are not enough consequences,” Allan said at a press conference where she read from an email sent by a crime victim. “We must send a very clear message and must indeed deliver the serious consequences that need to come as a result from people who commit these violent crimes.” The legislation will also remove the principle of “jail as a last resort” and prioritize community safety in sentencing decisions.
The bill is being drafted and Allan said she wants it enacted as quickly as possible, though several questions remain unanswered. Officials have not clarified whether juveniles sentenced under the new system would serve time in youth detention facilities or adult prisons. Legal experts are expected to scrutinize whether judges will impose the maximum sentences available, given that adult offenders rarely receive such penalties even under current law.
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