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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/27/queensland-concedes-law-imposing-mandatory-jail-on-some-offenders-as-young-as-10-breaches-human-rights-ntwnfb>
"The Queensland government’s latest law and order crackdown – subjecting some
children as young as 10 to a mandatory sentence of a year behind bars – could
lead to “cruel outcomes”, according to human rights lawyers.
In documents tabled with the legislation on Thursday, the government conceded
its laws, dubbed “breach bail, go to jail”, would breach human rights and risk
further straining the state’s overcrowded jails, youth detention centres and
police watch houses.
It requires an override of the
Queensland Human Rights Act.
The legislation applies to a child or adult charged with a “significant
offence” while on bail, or failing to appear for a court matter.
For children, a “significant offence” is any of the government’s 47 previously
legislated adult crime adult time offences, such as dangerous operation of a
vehicle, robbery, and entering a premises and committing an indictable offence.
For adults, they also additionally include sexual offences against children and
coercive control.
A person on bail accused of one of the offences would face a much higher bar to
be granted bail again. The bill requires that they be remanded in custody
unless the court or a police officer is satisfied to a “high degree of
confidence” that they would not commit another significant offence.
If convicted of the second offence, they would be subjected to a mandatory
minimum 12-month sentence, without parole. It could be served concurrently with
any other sentence for the additional offence.
The law applies even if the person is found not guilty of the first offence.
The government concedes that the legislation limits a range of rights including
the right to liberty, that persons awaiting trial should not automatically be
detained in custody, and the right of children to protection in their best
interests.
It also concedes that the additional offence will lead to overcrowding in the
state’s corrective services facilities and youth detention centre and as a
result “will impact the conditions of detention, engaging the right to humane
treatment when deprived of liberty”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
