The Act does not extend to offences that result in the death of a person, most sexual assault offences, traffic offences where a child is old enough to hold a permit or a licence, or offences contained in Part 15A of the Crimes Act 1900 . At a time when the courts are receiving increasing numbers of applications for apprehended violence orders against children by members of their families, perhaps it's time to review this latter exclusion. At present, most drug offences are also excluded from the operation of the Act. The recent Drug Summit recommended that summary drug matters in the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 be included in the Act. The government is now moving to implement this recommendation.
Offensive language is a perfect example of such an offence.
It is therefore quite disappointing that a significant number of children, and in particular Indigenous children, are still appearing in court on offensive language charges. The Act includes criteria that distinguish between those offences that should be cautioned and those that should be referred to a youth justice conference. These criteria include the seriousness of the offence, the level of violence involved and the degree of harm caused, the number of previous cautions or conference referrals and the offending history of the child. Previous cautions or participation in a conference do not automatically preclude a later conference or caution. Each case must be decided on its own facts according to the provisions of the Act.