Youth offending is down. Locking up children won't keep it down.
Smart Justice for Young People
Victoria's youth offending figures may be heading in the right direction, but this cannot be attributed to imprisoning more children, says Smart Justice for Young People (SJ4YP), a coalition of more than 50 community, legal, health and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations. Locking up children is proof of systemic failure and misplaced priorities and will make us all less safe in the long term. If the next government wants a safer Victoria then they must invest in what stops children reoffending: prevention and early intervention, not in more prison cells. This includes a whole of government approach with agreed goals and measures of success to ensure that all Victorian children and young people are getting the help they need; when they need it; and where they need it; and guaranteeing the best long-term return for the community.
Crime Statistics Agency's Victorian figures for the year to June 2026 show police recorded 21,949 incidents involving a 12–17-year-old as an alleged offender. That is down 8.1 per cent on the year before. Per head of population, the number of young people recorded as offending is well below 2016–17 levels.
The Victorian Government has credited its tougher bail laws for the decrease but adults live under the same laws, and incidents involving adult offenders rose 8.8 per cent. Increases in the cost-of-living and a failure to adequately fund community services are important factors that can drive offending, and are not helped by increases in incarceration.
Meanwhile, more children are behind bars. The Children’s Court refused bail to children 697 times in the year to June 2026, almost double the 365 refusals two years earlier. On an average day in 2024–25, 74 children aged 10–17 were in detention, up 37 per cent on the year before. More than half (56.6 per cent) of young people released from sentenced youth justice supervision are back under supervision within 12 months.
“Holding a child on remand stops them offending for as long as they’re held. It can’t get them back to school, it can’t treat trauma, and it doesn’t stop them coming back into prison. More than three in five children in custody were abused, traumatised or neglected as children. The programs that deal with that cost a fraction of a detention bed, and they work. They just don’t get the funding they need,” said a spokesperson for Smart Justice for Young People.
Victoria spends $7,304 a day to detain one young person. That is twice the national average, or about $2.7 million a year. Youth detention spending has nearly tripled in real terms since 2015–16, reaching $343 million in 2024–25.
The Government’s own Early Intervention Investment Framework reports that 85 per cent of its outcome measures are meeting or beating their targets. Yet the largest item in this year’s $525 million Community Safety Package is $304.9 million over five years for extra youth and adult custodial capacity and a fast-track County Court youth list. That is more than three times the collective sum of all other funded initiatives in the package for prevention and early intervention combined.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be over policed and over incarcerated and are detained at 8.5 times the rate of non-Aboriginal children. The number of Aboriginal young people recorded as offending fell 12 per cent this year, compared with 2.5 per cent for non-Aboriginal young people.
Not every group is sharing in the improvement. Incidents involving girls rose 1.6 per cent, the fourth annual rise in a row, while boys’ fell 11.4 per cent. Incidents involving 18–24-year-olds rose 5 per cent. Increased funding for early intervention and prevention programs, like those highlighted below, would enable the social sector to roll out targeted programs to address the unique needs of these cohorts.
WestJustice
Victorian Council of Social Service
Youth Affairs Council Victoria
Centre for Multicultural Youth
Centre for Innovative Justice
Youthlaw
Jesuit Social Services
What’s working: programs from Smart Justice for Young People members
SJ4YP members run programs that address what drives young people’s offending, at a fraction of the cost of custody.
Jesuit Social Services: Youth Justice Group Conferencing
Youth Justice Group Conferencing brings a young person who has caused harm face-to-face with the people they’ve affected, including family, police and, where they choose to take part, victims, to hear the impact and agree on how to make it right. A Swinburne study of more than 2,300 young people through the Children's Court found those who completed a conference were around 40 per cent less likely to keep reoffending.
In 2024–25, Victoria spent $118 on youth detention for every $1 it spent on group conferencing. A conference costs about $14,000, which is less than two days in detention.
“Why are we spending vast amounts of money to imprison people in unsafe conditions when there are evidence-based, effective alternatives? Instead of imprisoning people, the Victorian Government should be using diversion and restorative justice programs such as group conferencing wherever possible.” – Julie Edwards, CEO, Jesuit Social Services
Jesuit Social Services: Youth Justice Community Support Service (YJCSS)
Jesuit Social Services has delivered the Youth Justice Community Support Service across metropolitan Melbourne since the program began in 2008. YJCSS works with around 300 young people a year, aged 12–25, who are involved with the justice system, including those on bail, on community-based orders, and before and after release from custody. Staff go to young people at home or wherever they are, and provide intensive support including case management, supported accommodation, crisis response, and therapeutic and practical help, working alongside families, communities and other services.
Staff go to young people at home or wherever they are, with day and after-hours support, including on weekends. They provide intensive support including case management, crisis response, therapeutic and practical help, and supported accommodation through the Transitional Housing Management (THM) system. Staff work closely with families, provide culturally specific support for young people and their families, and work alongside communities and other services.
In 2024–25, according to the Department of Justice and Community Safety's measures of the program's performance:
- 71 per cent of participants had not reoffended, or had reduced the severity or frequency of their offending, after a median 30 weeks in the program
- 90 per cent progressed towards stable, long-term accommodation
- 81 per cent progressed in getting support for, or managing, their mental health
- 79 per cent improved their pro-social connections, including with family.
YJCSS costs an average of $17,637 per participant, less than two and a half days in youth detention. Yet current funding allows for an average of only two hours of support per young person each week.
Berry Street Yooralla: Multisystemic Therapy (MST)
This intensive, family-focused intervention is designed for young people aged 10-17 who are at risk of entering, or have recently entered, out-of-home care. Highly trained MST therapists work closely with young people and their families in their homes, schools, and communities to address a range of challenges, including:
• Challenging behaviours: Aggression, criminal behaviours, substance use, and self-harm.
• Family conflict: Communication breakdowns, parenting difficulties, and domestic and family violence.
• School disengagement: Truancy, poor academic performance, and expulsion.
• Mental health concerns: Depression, anxiety, and trauma-related symptoms.
MST has achieved impressive results, with significant reductions in out-of-home placements, arrests, and recidivism rates. FY26 stats show:
- 94% of young people were living at home
- 85% had no new arrests
- 92% of families reported better relationships
- 84% reported stronger support networks.
Youthlaw: Early Intervention Crime Program
The program, funded by the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner, provides young people aged 18-25 with early intervention legal help and intensive wraparound support before, at and after court, delivered by an integrated team of lawyers and social workers.
Key points from our mid-project evaluation (March–December 2025):
- 125 young people assisted through 292 legal and social work services
- The young people we support have complex needs: more than 60% were homeless, more than 85% were experiencing financial disadvantage, 60% were experiencing or at risk of family violence, and more than 50% have a disability
- Of 35 clients with completed close-file surveys, 94% were dealt with by diversion, caution or withdrawal of charges
- Diversion works: the Sentencing Advisory Council found that about 1 in 4 young people aged 20–24 who received a diversion plan were sentenced for other offending within five years, compared with almost half (49%) of those who received other court outcomes
When young people get the right legal and social support early, they avoid a criminal record and stay out of the system.
Centre for Multicultural Youth’s Le Mana Pasifika program
Māori and Pacific Islander young people are persistently overrepresented in Victoria’s justice system.
Structural conditions, such as loss of support networks, racism and discrimination, poverty and exclusion, are drivers for justice contact, disengagement, family stress and poor mental health for young people from Pasifika backgrounds.
Established in 2017, the Le Mana Pasifika builds connected communities and a sense of belonging for Pasifika young people through bicultural and cultural mentors. The program strengthens Māori and Pasifika young people in Victoria, enabling them to recognise their worth and the unique value they bring to communities.
Le Mana Pasifika currently operates across 6 Local Government Areas in Melbourne’s West and South East that are home to the largest communities of Pasifika people, with identified increasing demand for targeted support in Melbourne’s Northern Growth Corridor, including Hume and Whittlesea, which have growing Pasifika communities.
Of more than 3,000 young people engaged in Le Mana Pasifika activities in 2025-26:
- 97% reported an improved sense of belonging,
- 95% improved engagement in education and training, and
- 96% increased knowledge of mental health and wellbeing.
Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS): PIVOT
PIVOT is an intensive, tailored case-management and support initiative for young people aged 10–23 years with serious or repeat offending patterns, focused on building protective factors like education, employment and strong community connections. It is delivered in partnership with Windana, Jesuit Social Services and Mission Australia.
Of the 25 current PIVOT clients:
- 84% have improved family relationships
- 56% have completed their criminal justice matters without reoffending
- 80% are engaged in education or employment
“As a team leader, I see every day how PIVOT’s consistent, tailored support helps young people build trust, strengthen family relationships and take meaningful steps towards education, employment and a more positive future.”
“By helping young people address the factors contributing to offending and connect with the right supports, PIVOT can also help reduce reoffending and support safer communities. The progress behind these figures reflects the commitment and resilience of the young people, alongside the relationships they build with their case managers.” – Nathan Lambie, PIVOT Team Leader, YSAS.
YSAS: Youth Support Service (YSS)
The Youth Support Service (YSS) is a Victorian community-based early intervention program for young people aged 10–17 who have recently come into contact with police or are identified as being at risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system.
Funded by the Victorian Government’s Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS), YSS aims to divert young people from ongoing involvement in the justice system by supporting them to address underlying issues, work towards their goals and build positive pathways. The program is delivered by ten community service organisations across Metropolitan Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, Mildura and the Latrobe Valley. YSAS delivers YSS across Metropolitan Melbourne and the Latrobe Valley.
YSS Outcomes from the Learnings from the YSAS Youth Support Service (YSS) Report:
- Of the 735 closed episodes of care more than 96% were categorised as ‘Completed’ meaning that client goals were either partially or fully achieved.
- 45% demonstrated significant improvement in Education.
- 33% demonstrated significant improvement in Pro-social Interests.
Contact details:
Toby Halligan, Jesuit Social Services, 0409 692 230