Queensland admits new mandatory jail law for repeat offenders, including children, breaches human rights
The Queensland government has acknowledged that its new bail law, which imposes a mandatory minimum 12-month jail term on repeat offenders as young as 10, breaches the state's Human Rights Act. An override of that act is required for the legislation to proceed.
The Queensland government has tabled legislation imposing a mandatory minimum 12-month prison sentence, without parole, on repeat offenders — including children as young as 10 — who commit a further serious offence while on bail or fail to appear in court. Dubbed "breach bail, go to jail," the law is the state's latest law-and-order measure.
Documents accompanying the bill concede it breaches the Queensland Human Rights Act and risks worsening overcrowding in the state's prisons, youth detention centres and police watch houses. As a result, the government must invoke a formal override of the act, normally permitted only in exceptional circumstances such as a state of emergency.
Broad range of offences covered
For children, a "significant offence" covers any of the 47 offences already listed under the government's "adult crime, adult time" regime, including dangerous driving, robbery, and entering premises to commit an indictable offence. For adults, the list also includes sexual offences against children and coercive control.
Anyone charged with such an offence while already on bail will face a much higher threshold to be released again, requiring the court or police to be satisfied to a "high degree of confidence" that they won't reoffend. If convicted of the second offence, the mandatory sentence applies even if the person is acquitted of the first charge.
Legal and academic criticism
Human rights lawyer Bridget Burton of the University of Queensland said there were no apparent exceptional circumstances justifying the override, and that mandatory sentencing strips judges of discretion, risking unjust outcomes, particularly for offenders who are also victims. Griffith University criminologist William Wood said there was little evidence a 12-month mandatory term would deter young offenders, noting the law would mostly affect less serious offenders, since violent crimes already attract longer sentences. He added that Queensland already has the country's highest youth detention rate and heavy use of pre-trial detention.
Premier David Crisafulli said the changes would give Queensland "the strongest bail laws in the country" and confirmed plans to build additional jails, framing the choice as between full prisons and fewer offenders in the community.
