We welcome the aim of safer communities – but warn that presuming against bail and mandatory non-parole floors for children would entrench harm and over-representation.
First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) has lodged our submission to the South Australian Government on the Young Offender Plan and the Statutes Amendment (Recidivist Young Offenders) Bill 2025. Our message is clear: keep children safe, connected to culture and supports, and avoid reforms that widen the net.
The Government’s proposals include a new recidivist young offender regime with tougher bail and sentencing settings. While aimed at a small cohort, these changes risk sweeping in First Nations children with disability who are already over-represented in youth justice. Evidence shows most children in detention on an average day are unsentenced, meaning bail settings, not sentencing, drive much of youth detention. Tightening bail tends to increase remand and worsen outcomes.
There is a better path. South Australia has already invested in culturally-led, therapeutic justice through the Youth Aboriginal Community Court Adelaide (YACCA), a model that supports engagement, healing and accountability with Elders at the centre. Scaling this approach statewide, alongside disability screening and practical bail support, is far more likely to reduce re-offending.
In our submission, we urge the Government to: withdraw the presumption-against-bail and mandatory non-parole elements; strictly limit any “recidivist” declaration with disability and cultural safeguards; expand YACCA statewide; mandate universal disability screening and publish disability-disaggregated data; fix the NDIS–justice interface so supports follow the child; and commit to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
These changes align policy with child development, evidence and Closing the Gap—targeting serious harm while keeping children connected to family, school and Country.
Read the submission: FPDN Submission – SA Youth Offenders Plan and Bill
