Essay On Juvenile Justice In Australia

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It is widely acknowledged in Australia and around the world that children and young people should be subject to a system of criminal justice that is separate from the adult system that recognizes their inexperience and immaturity. As such, children are typically dealt with separately from adults and treated less harshly than their adult counterparts. So...what is Juvenile justice? Well, juvenile justice is a combination of rules, institutions and people involved in control, punishment and rehabilitation of children and young people as suspects and, most commonly offenders. The ‘system’ of juvenile justice is primarily the responsibility of state governments, with state legislation, and state departments and facilities. Various Federal and local authorities, as well as a range of non-government agencies, also play a role in the operation of juvenile justice in each state and territory. International instruments, such as the UN International Covenant on Civil and…show more content…
Only juvenile Justice is solely responsible for Young Offenders – those who have been referred to a youth justice conference by either the Police or Children’s Court, and those who are on community nor custodial orders made by the Children’s Court. No single piece of legislation regulates the juvenile justice system in any Australian jurisdiction. Some legislation applies to only to children while other legislation applies to both children and adults. For example in NSW the legislation covering Juvenile Justice is covered under: * Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW) * Children’s Court Act 1987 (NSW) * Children (Community Service Orders) Act 1987 (NSW) * Children (Detention Centres) Act 1987 (NSW) * Children (Interstate Transfer of Offenders) Act 1988 (NSW) * Children (Protection and Parental Responsibility) Act 1987 (NSW) * Young Offenders Act 1997
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