AGY-1682 | Office of Juvenile Justice (1991-1993) / Department of Juvenile Justice (1993-2009)

Full description

Juvenile justice was administered by the Department of Youth and Community Services until 1987, when it became the Juvenile Justice Service within the Department of Family and Community Services until 30 June 1991. It was transferred to the Department of Corrective Services where it operated as a Division between 1 July and 1 November 1991.

The Department of Juvenile Justice was established by proclamation on 1 November 1991 as an Administrative Office responsible to the Minister for Justice when the Juvenile Justice Division was removed from the Department of Corrective Services. (1) Until 10 September 1993, the agency was officially titled the Office of Juvenile Justice. (2) The establishment of a separate body in 1991 ‘was an acknowledgment of the fundamental differences that exist between welfare and justice issues and the administration of juvenile justice as opposed to adult justice.’ (3)

The Department of Juvenile Justice provides assessment services to courts, supervises community based orders, and manages juvenile justice centres for young persons subject to orders of the Children’s Court, District Court and Supreme Court of New South Wales. The Department’s aim is to re-integrate offenders into the community.

The Department of Juvenile Justice operates centres for those who have been either remanded in custody prior to final court appearances or who are subject to periods of control. (4) Detainees have access to counselling services for personal, drug and alcohol problems. (5)

The Young Offenders Act 1997 (Act No. 54, 1997) provides an alternative process to court proceedings for children alleged to have committed offences. (6) Under the Act, youth justice conferences and formal cautions and warnings are available with detention viewed as a final option in the series of sentencing alternatives. Generally, detention is limited to repeat offenders, and for those who have committed serious offences.

Schedule 1 and Sections 60, 61 and 70 of the Act were proclaimed on 28 November 1997 and relate to the establishment of the Youth Justice Advisory Committee. Section 73 was also proclaimed on this date and relates to general regulation-making powers. (7) The remaining sections of the Act were proclaimed on 6 April 1998. (8)

The Minister for Juvenile Justice is responsible for Part 5 of the Act, which relates to youth justice conferences, with the Attorney General being responsible for the remaining sections. (9) Youth Justice Conferencing began in April 1998, with the scheme being the responsibility of a newly established directorate.

The services provided by the Department are governed by legislation including the Children (Community Service Orders) Amendment (Maximum Hours) Act 1996, the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987, and the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987.

On 8 April 1999, responsibility for the Department of Juvenile Justice was removed from the Minister for Community Services upon the appointment of a Minister for Juvenile Justice. (10)

From 1 July 2009 the Department of Juvenile Justice was abolished and its functions were transferred to the new Principal Department, the Department of Human Services. (11)

Endnotes
1. New South Wales Government Gazette, 1 November 1991, p. 9207.
2. New South Wales Government Gazette, 10 September 1993, p. 5620.
3. Annual Report for the Department of Juvenile Justice, year ended 30 June 1995, p. 6.
4. Annual Report for the Department of Juvenile Justice, 1997-98, p. 17.
5. Annual Report for the Department of Juvenile Justice, year ended 30 June 1995, p. 7.
6. New South Wales Government Gazette, 3 April 1998, p. 2291.
7. New South Wales Government Gazette, 28 November 1997, p. 9480.
8. New South Wales Government Gazette, 3 April 1998, p. 2291.
9. New South Wales Government Gazette, Special Supplement, 8 April 1999, p. 2684.
10. Ibid. p. 2686.
11. Public Sector Employment and Management (Departmental Amalgamations) Order 2009 (2009 No 352) cls. 13; notified on NSW Legislation website, 27 July 2009.