The safety and wellbeing of children and young people is the highest priority for the Tasmanian Government, and there is nothing more important than ensuring those who are vulnerable or at risk have the support they need.
The Youth Justice Reform is centred around a contemporary, integrated and therapeutic approach, focused on the rights of the child, rehabilitation and breaking the cycle of offending to create generational change.
A key step towards achieving this goal is the development of the Youth Justice Blueprint 2024-2034 (PDF, 1.1MB) a multi-systemic response to youth justice in Tasmania across the next 10 years. The Blueprint outlines our strategic direction 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.
This will be achieved within the five strategies that underpin the Blueprint:
- Prioritise prevention and early intervention to reduce engagement with the youth justice system.
- Ensure diversion from the justice system is early and lasting.
- Establish a therapeutically based criminal justice response for children and young people.
- Integrate and connect whole-of-government and community service systems.
- Provide an appropriately trained, supported and culturally aligned therapeutic workforce.
The Blueprint has been developed in collaboration with other agencies, young people and key stakeholders to ensure it is fit for purpose and nation leading in terms of achieving improved outcomes for children and young people. The Blueprint also aligns with the recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings.
As part of the Government’s commitment to close the Ashley Youth Detention Centre, we are working to deliver a new fit-for-purpose secure therapeutic facility, with the preferred site selected at Pontville, as well as new assisted bail and supported accommodation facilities. Early works are expected to begin at the new secure therapeutic facility site in the second half of 2024.
More information about the reform:
The Blueprint 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. If you have any questions, please email yjreform@decyp.tas.gov.au or phone (03) 6166 3799.