Expansion of Adult Crime, Adult Time Laws in Queensland
The Queensland government has introduced new legislation aimed at expanding the adult crime, adult time framework to include an additional 12 offences. This move is intended to address what the government describes as a growing issue with youth crime. However, recent data from the state’s Youth Justice Department reveals that no juvenile has appeared in court for some of these offences over the past decade.
Offences Being Added
The proposed expansion includes a range of serious crimes such as:
- Disabling to commit an indictable offence
- Stupefying to commit an indictable offence
- Choking in a domestic setting
- Rioting
- Assault occasioning bodily harm where the offender publishes material on social media or is armed or in company
- Aiding suicide
- Abuse of persons with an impairment of the mind
- Administering poison with intent to harm
- Conspiring to murder
Additionally, the legislation will cover unlawful stalking, intimidation, harassment, or abuse. Another crime being added is indecent treatment of a child under 12 or who has an impairment of the mind. The law will also include endangering the safety of a person in a vehicle with intent.
Court Appearances and Charges
New figures released by the Youth Justice Department show that between 2015 and 2025, no child was charged with aiding suicide or stupefying to commit an indictable offence. Authorities charged one child for administering poison with intent, two children with conspiring to murder, and one for disabling to commit an indictable offence. There were also five children charged with abuse of persons with an impairment of the mind.
The most frequently charged offence during this period was assault occasioning bodily harm, where the offender publishes material on social media or is armed or in company. Between 2015 and 2025, authorities charged 3,022 juveniles with this crime. Another 21 children were charged with rioting during this period, but the majority — 19 of them — were charged in 2017.
More than 100 juveniles who appeared in court were also accused of choking in a domestic setting.
Human Rights Concerns
The government has acknowledged that it is overriding the Human Rights Act to implement this latest expansion of the adult crime, adult time laws. This could limit the right to protection from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and the right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty.
The government argues that the current situation with youth crime presents an “exceptional crisis situation” that constitutes a threat to public safety. However, Katherine Hayes, chief executive of the Youth Advocacy Centre, suggests that the data from the Youth Justice Department contradicts this argument.
“For the Human Rights Act to be overridden yet again, there needs to be exceptional circumstances,” she said. “This data doesn’t reveal exceptional circumstances.”
Ms Hayes stated that the Youth Advocacy Centre opposes the expansion of the adult crime, adult time laws and wants an independent review of the effectiveness and consequences of the widening of the laws within a year to 18 months of their implementation.
Government Response
In a statement, Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber said police had been asking for stronger laws to help make the state safer for years. “Adult crime, adult time is the stronger laws police need to restore consequences for actions and make our community safer,” she said. “We promised to continue strengthening the laws and that’s exactly what we’re delivering, and victim numbers are down and crime is down as a result.”
The definition of a juvenile offender was changed in 2018 so that it included 17-year-olds, who were previously classed as adults. The government’s widened laws will also take into account when an offender attempts or conspires to commit an adult crime, adult time offence.
The Youth Justice Department data breaks down the number of charged juveniles for each year, for each offence. This means it is possible a child could be counted multiple times if they were charged with the same offence across multiple years. It also means a child could have been charged with multiple distinct offences within the same year.
