Sentencing Review 2020-2021

This sentencing review focuses on the sentencing of young people (YP). It commences with a brief overview of some of the specific issues in relation to sentencing YP, before presenting detailed national sentencing data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It also examines recent policy developments, especially the proposal to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility and legislative reforms in 2021 in Queensland and the Northern Territory. The review summarises recent research on sentencing YP from the sentencing advisory councils in Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland. Key areas of focus are the sentencing of YP aged 1013 and Indigenous YP; so-called "crossover kids", that is, children involved in both the youth justice and child protection systems; the sentencing of children held on remand; and the need for trauma-informed responses in this context.