Swings and Roundabouts: Evaluating the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families (Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Orders) Amendment Act 2010 Section 14

Abstract

The Children, Young Persons and their Families (Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Orders) Amendment Act 2010, which comes into effect on 1 October 2010, is the most significant change to the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act since its introduction in 1989. The new Act has two main functions: it extends the jurisdiction of the Youth Court and gives the court a new range of orders. This paper analyses section 14 of the new Act which extends the jurisdiction to 12 and 13 year old serious and recidivist offenders. The paper asks what problem Parliament was trying to address with this amendment. It argues that the change in jurisdiction is motivated by populist politics and does not address any know change in child offending. This paper explores how section 14 changes the underlying assumptions about the level of responsibility we attribute to children. It then recommends that serious and recidivist offenders should continue to be dealt with by the Family Court. However, changes could be made to strengthen these existing powers to ensure children are dealt with more effective.