www.youthjustice.qld.gov.au

'EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction The Restorative Justice Project was established in 2015-16 after an election commitment to reinstate the capacity for courts to refer young offenders to restorative justice conferencing. The 2015-16 State Budget allocated $23.6 million over four years (2015-16 to 2018-19) to reinstate court referrals and enhance the restorative justice model based on contemporary evidence. Amendments to the Youth Justice Act 1992 commenced on 1 July 2016, reinstating courtreferred restorative justice conferencing and introducing additional court referral pathways. Key elements of the enhanced restorative justice model include: • Better targeting of specific cohorts including serious offenders, serious offences and young people from older age groups. • Reintroducing court referral pathways and introducing new sentence-based restorative justice interventions for young people subject to supervised orders (e.g. Restorative Justice Orders) • Enhancing alternative diversion and early intervention options, through the introduction of the Alternative Diversion Program (ADP) and working with Queensland Police to support the increased use of cautions • Improving the cultural relevance of restorative justice processes for Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander young people, their families and communities • Applying restorative justice principles in other areas within Youth Justice, such as Youth Detention Centres and Supervised Bail Accommodation Services.'