Policy submissions

Here you’ll find a wide selection of policy papers and submissions we’ve published. Each paper draws on our experience working with disadvantaged youth, families and communities.

How to improve youth justice centres in Victoria: reduce harm, protect children's rights and tailor transitions
- 15 March 2017
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Inquiry into Youth Justice Centres in Victoria. We believe youth justice in Victoria must be delivered according to a clear model, underpinned by a philosophy aligned with what we are trying to achieve – meeting the needs of children and young people, and creating a…
How to better prepare people to transition from prison to the community
- 9 March 2017
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Victorian Ombudsman’s enquiry into rehabilitation services post prison. People exiting prison in Victoria are some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our community, yet the limited support that is available to them means they often get stuck in the revolving door of the…
Submission to the review into Victoria's bail system
- 9 March 2017
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the review into Victoria’s bail system. Our submission focuses on the difficulties some groups face in accessing support, and the consequences of this exclusion both for the individuals involved and the community as a whole. Every Victorian should have the opportunity to access the support they…
States of Justice: Criminal justice trends across Australia
- 19 December 2016
For the first time, Jesuit Social Services’ States of Justice Report has drawn together data from around Australia to provide a fuller picture of how Australia’s criminal justice system is trending. It offers a chance to delve into the reality of crime and punishment in Australia: that we are becoming more punitive but to less effect. The…
Our response to the use of isolation, separation and lockdowns in youth justice
- 12 December 2016
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Commission for Children and Young People’s Inquiry into the use of isolation, separation and lockdowns in youth justice centres. We believe that: current approaches to children who display antisocial behaviour frequently fail to engage with them in ways that are developmentally appropriate a range of…
Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory – our response
- 31 October 2016
This submission responds to the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. In it, we draw on almost 40 years’ experience accompanying people involved, or at risk of becoming involved, in the criminal justice system. We also draw on evidence of how to create better outcomes for young people…
Creating a just and safe Northern Territory
- 12 August 2016
Jesuit Social Services’ election platform, Creating a just and safe Northern Territory, calls on parties and candidates to commit to two key areas for action to tackle the root causes of disadvantage: 1. Ensure all children and young people have the opportunity to flourish Ensure all children have access to early childhood education and health…
Enabling Justice Project Consultation Paper
- 22 June 2016
This Consultation Paper is the result of a collaboration between Jesuit Social Services and RMIT University’s Centre for Innovative Justice, which addresses the over-representation of people with acquired brain injuries (ABIs) in the criminal justice system. The paper gives voice to the experience of participants in the Enabling Justice Project who have an ABI and…
Too much too young: Raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12
- 24 October 2015
Our paper urges all Australian governments to increase the age of criminal responsibility in Australia from 10 to 12. The minimum age of criminal responsibility across all Australian jurisdictions is 10, despite extensive scientific evidence the brains of children under 12 are not adequately developed for them to be criminally responsible. We make six key…
An escalating problem: Responding to the increased remand of children in Victoria
- 1 October 2015
Our paper describes the dramatic increase in the number of children held on remand in Victoria, including a significant increase in children under 15. It finds that the increase is directly driven by reforms to the Bail Act in December 2013 that impose the same conditions and restrictions on children as are applied to adults.…