Draft:Adelaide Youth Court

The Adelaide Youth Court, established in 1993, is a specialized court in South Australia focused on cases involving youth. It replaced the Children's Court, which had been in existence since 1895. The Youth Court operates under the framework of the Youth Court Act 1993 (SA), passed following a governmental review of the juvenile justice system in South Australia.

The Adelaide Youth Court has both a criminal and civil jurisdiction. In its criminal jurisdiction, the Youth Court deals with summary offences and indictable offences.

Location
The Youth Court is located at 75 Wright St in Adelaide. The building was built in

The waiting room contains a framed poem from Australian poet, Geoff Goodfellow. It is designed for youth waiting for trial to read

Jurisdiction
The Youth Court has both criminal and civil jurisdictions, primarily dealing with both summary and inictable offences charges against youth aged between 10 and 18 years at the time of the offense. The court's civil jurisdiction involves hearing and deciding child protection applications. The court's criminal jurisdiction aims to provide care, correction, and guidance to young offenders for their development into responsible community members.

Procedures
The court proceedings resemble those of adult courts but with significant differences. In accordance with section 24 of the Youth Court Act 1993 (SA), The Youth Court is a closed court, meaning only participants in the proceedings are allowed to attend. Media reporting is restricted, and the publication of information that could identify a youth is prohibited. In criminal charges, the Youth Court operates separately from adult courts and is limited to imposing a fine not exceeding $2,500, community service of up to 500 hours, a maximum of 12 months home detention and a maximum of 3 years detention at a training centre, pursuant to section 24, 25 and 23 of the Young Offenders Act 1993 (SA).

Court Composition
The Youth Court's judiciary includes a Judge (appointed to the District Court), three Magistrates, and auxiliary Magistrates as needed. Judicial Registrars and Special Justices may also be appointed. In criminal proceedings, the court cannot impose a sentence of more than 3 years, and a judicial registrar cannot impose a sentence of detention. Special justices are not permitted to hear major indictable offences or impose detention sentences.

History
The Youth Court's predecessor, the Children's Court, was established in 1895 to separate the hearings of juveniles from adults. It went through various names and forms, including the State Children's Court and the Juvenile Court. A royal commission in 1977 and a government review in 1991 led to the establishment of the Youth Court in 1993 under the Youth Court Act 1993 (SA).

Youth offending trends
Throughout the latest reporting period, 517 South Australians were under youth justice supervision, with the state ranking fifth in the country on youth justice. On an average day in the same period, 230 were under youth supervision. There was an 18% decrease in the number of young people under supervision, from 280 in 2017-18 to 230 in the latest reporting period. The rate dropped from 14 to 10 per 10,000 young people aged 10–17.

Age
The majority of supervised youth were aged between 10 and 17 (72.5%).

Gender
The majority of supervised youth were male (78.1%), mirroring adult figures.

Ethnicity
While the rate of Indigenous youths appearing in court has substantially decreased in recent years, they are still over-represented in the system, making up 43.3% of those supervised despite being only 4.7% of the youth population. The rate per 10,000 aged 10-17 is nearly ten times that of the state average and more than 17 times that of non-Indigenous peers.