Policy Bulletin 2022/10 Crime Policy: Children

The minor amendments to Crime policy 2.1 Children are intended to clarify the policies, ensure consistency, and assist practitioners by having all policies relating to children’s criminal law matters in one place. This includes:

• Mirroring existing criminal law policies in Crime policy 2.1 Children, but with appropriate changes for children and young people, such as making it clear there is no requirement to satisfy the Means Test. This includes some Local Court policies (eg annulments, forensic procedures, mandatory disease testing), Supreme Court bail, ADVO and APVO matters, parole matters and variations of a bond or probation order.
• A note in Crime policy 2.1.1 Criminal matters in the Children's Court to make it clear that the policy applies to people up to the age of 21 years in the rare instances where they were a child at the time of the offence but are an adult when the matter is heard in the Children’s Court.
• Minor formatting and style changes to the existing policies in 2.1 Children.

Some consequential amendments have been made to other Criminal Law policies that will provide clarity and refer practitioners to the appropriate policy for matters involving children and young people.

For details please see Crime policy 2.1 Children.