MEDIA RELEASE
Tuesday 15 September 2026
Proposed legislation to extend youth bail laws that make it easier to imprison children will make communities less safe and will make crime worse in NSW.
The Aboriginal Legal Service is calling for these laws to be scrapped and for the NSW Government to instead prioritise investment in keeping marginalised children out of the criminal justice system in the first place.
“This is a clear tactic from the Minns Government to ram through as much punitive legislation as possible ahead of the election, and Aboriginal children and the community will pay the price,” says Sharif Deen, Acting CEO at the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT (ALS).
"There is clear evidence the Premier's legislation is having a discriminatory effect: 80 per cent of children imprisoned under the laws he introduced in 2024 are Aboriginal.
"Because of failed NSW youth justice policy like these bail laws, the vast majority of children in NSW jails have not had their day in court or been found guilty of a crime.
"Why does the Premier think it's OK for jails to be full of unsentenced Aboriginal kids?"
This legislation comes just days after Premier Minns announced new laws to impose adult penalties on children who are victims of exploitation by organised crime networks.
"Locking up more children will only entrench them in a cycle of crime and disadvantage. The Premier knows that jailing children just increases the likelihood they will go on to reoffend. It’s clear he is more concerned with perceived political point-scoring than with what actually works to make the community safer – which is investing in community services that address the root causes of crime."
The ALS supports the call from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to take action on youth justice.
“State and territory leaders are in an appalling race to the bottom, and this is yet another example. It’s time for the Prime Minister to step up and show national leadership.
“He has the power to make laws to protect our children and keep our communities safe – the time for him to act is now,” says Mr Deen.
