- Queensland Parliament’s Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee to hold regional public hearing in Mount Morgan today into the Youth Justice (Circuit Breaker) Amendment Bill 2026.
- Central Queenslanders will have the opportunity to have their say on one of the Crisafulli Government’s most significant youth justice reforms.
- Circuit Breaker Sentencing will be the last stop before detention for youth offenders, for up to six-months and delivered in remote locations, away from populated areas.
- The Crisafulli Government is making Queensland safer by restoring safety where you live, turning the tide on Labor’s Youth Crime Crisis.
The Queensland Parliament’s Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee is holding a regional public hearing in Mount Morgan into the Youth Justice (Circuit Breaker) Amendment Bill 2026.
Central Queenslanders will have the opportunity to attend the public hearing today and help shape the Committee’s consideration of the Crisafulli Government’s Bill designed to protect communities and rehabilitate youth offenders.
The hearing will be held at the Welfare Bowls Club in Mount Morgan from 11:30am to 2:30pm.
Circuit Breaker Sentencing will be the first of its kind intensive rehabilitation program in Australia, giving courts a powerful new tool to deal with youth offenders.
The program will operate in highly controlled settings, catering for up to 60 youth offenders across locations for up to six months and is expected to commence later this year.
Under the Bill, courts will have the power to order youth offenders to Circuit Breaker Sentencing as a genuine alternative to detention.
This ensures youth offenders are removed from the community they have caused harm to, while providing them with the structure, discipline, education and intensive rehabilitation to prevent offending.
Every youth offender will wear an electronic monitoring device to ensure strict compliance and the safety and security of the program and the community.
At Circuit Breaker Sentencing, youth will participate in structured activities including ‘hands-on’ learning, for example in agricultural activities or livestock management, where they can gain practical knowledge, and the skills needed to help get them back on track.
The Crisafulli Government is making Queensland safer with stronger laws, more police, new early intervention and rehabilitation programs to break the cycle of crime.
This is in stark contrast to Labor, who created Queensland’s Youth Crime Crisis and has an agenda to raise the age of criminal responsibility and wind back Adult Crime, Adult Time.
Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support Laura Gerber said Circuit Breaker Sentencing was a key pillar in the Crisafulli Government’s plan to make Queensland safer and will be a game changer to turn the tide on Labor’s Youth Crime Crisis.
“Circuit Breaker Sentencing will be the last stop before detention, one built on structure, discipline, education and rehabilitation,” Minister Gerber said.
“It’s tough, targeted and unashamedly focused on breaking the cycle of offending so we have fewer victims of crime in Queensland.
“Courts can compel youth offenders into intensive rehabilitation, rather than simply releasing them back into the community they caused harm to.
“Under Labor’s failed approach, youth offenders cycled through a broken system with no real intervention, the Crisafulli Government is giving courts the laws they need to deal with serious youth offenders to make Queensland safer.”
