The Tasmanian Government is committed to strengthening the supports and therapeutic interventions provided to young people to prevent engagement with the youth justice system.

A key step towards achieving this goal is the development of a whole of government Blueprint for a multi-systemic response to youth justice in Tasmania across the next 10 years. The Final Draft Youth Justice Blueprint 2022-2023 (PDF, 1.1MB) outlines a strategic direction across the service continuum, from prevention and early intervention, through to services for repeat and high-risk offenders that changes the pathways for young people at risk of, or who are engaging in offending behaviour.

Over its ten-year life-span the Blueprint’s key objectives are to create a contemporary, integrated and therapeutic youth justice system that:

1. Keeps children and young people in youth justice facilities safe;
2. Reduces offending behaviour by children and young people;
3. Reduces the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children and young people; 
4. Supports children and young people to re-enter the community through prosocial pathways; and
5. Improves community and staff safety.

The Blueprint includes the Government’s commitment to continue the transition to a therapeutic model for custodial youth justice. This will see the closure of Tasmania’s existing youth custodial facility, the Ashley Youth Detention Centre, and building of new, fit for purpose, custodial youth justice facilities.

The Final Draft Youth Justice Blueprint 2022 – 2032 will have a final round of targeted consultation concluding on 23 December 2022. The Final Draft is informed by the previously released Reforming Tasmania’s Youth Justice System: Discussion Paper (PDF, 1.1MB) and extensive consultation by Noetic between December 2021 and April 2022.

The Blueprint outlines the strategic direction for Tasmania’s youth justice system for the next ten years with the aim of improving the wellbeing of children, young people and their families while addressing the underlying drivers of offending behaviours, reducing offending and improving community safety.