MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday 28 April 2026

A new evaluation shows that NSW Police Force Youth Action Meetings (YAMs) are not working – and are even leading to worse outcomes for some children.

The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) found that participation in YAMs made no significant impact on the likelihood of children offending or being a victim of crime, nor on school enrolment rates or usage of mental health services.

“Police-led Youth Action Meetings don’t work for children, families or communities. They aren’t effective in engaging young people with education or mental health support. They aren’t supporting safer communities,” said Nadine Miles, Principal Legal Officer at the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited (ALS).

“Most of the time, the child and their family aren’t even included in the meetings.”

Young people subjected to YAMs were 37% more likely than their peers to be subject to a risk of significant harm (RoSH) report, bringing them in direct contact with the child protection system.

“By sinking money into this program, the NSW Government is only ensuring that more children at risk of contact with the justice system are also forced into the child protection system, contrary to Closing the Gap commitments.

“And by relying on police to coordinate a response that is supposed to help at-risk children, the Government is only increasing surveillance over these young people and their families, and diminishing trust. Aboriginal communities know only too well that, when police take the lead, punitive responses are more likely – and we know that, statistically, Aboriginal children are far more likely to be punished than supported,” Ms Miles said.

Nearly half of all children referred to YAMs during the pilot phase were Aboriginal.

The recent BOCSAR study examines outcomes from YAMs pilots in two NSW locations between 2020 and 2021. In 2024, the NSW Government announced an investment of millions of dollars to expand YAMs in nine police districts – badging the program as a “regional crime prevention initiative”, despite a lack of evidence that it is doing anything to reduce or prevent crime.

“It’s really concerning that this program is being expanded without any evidence it produces positive outcomes,” Ms Miles said.

“It’s time for the NSW Government to admit that Youth Action Meetings are a failed experiment and stop funding responses that cause disproportionate harm to Aboriginal children.

“Instead, the Government must embrace real solutions that provide children with trauma-informed and culturally safe pathways away from the justice system. All of the evidence shows that, when the needs of children and families are met, they’re less likely to come into contact with the system in the first place.”

The ALS recently launched a new strategy, developed in partnership with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, to direct children away from the justice system and towards therapeutic, community-based responses that help them to thrive. More information is available on the ALS and DCJ websites: Therapeutic Pathways for Children

The BOCSAR evaluation of the NSW Youth Action Meetings pilot program can be found at: https://bocsar.nsw.gov.au/research-evaluations/2026/CJB273-Report-NSW-youth-action-meetings-pilot-program.html