In 2022–23, the Children’s Court most often sentenced children and young people to:
- youth diversion (imposed in 54.2% of cases)
- good behaviour bonds (imposed in 19.6% of cases)
- youth attendance orders/youth supervision orders (imposed in 7.5% of cases).
The percentage of cases receiving youth diversion increased from 0.6% (22 cases) in 2014–15 to 54.2% (1,215 cases) in 2022–23. Youth diversion was introduced in Victoria in 2015.
The use of good behaviour bonds peaked at 36.1% of cases in 2014–15 but then declined, making up 19.6% of cases in 2022–23.
The percentage of cases receiving youth attendance orders/youth supervision orders reached a high of 12.3% in 2020–21. The percentage has since declined to 7.5% in 2022–23.
Cases sentenced to youth detention (a youth justice centre order or a youth residential centre order) increased from 1.6% in 2006–07 to 7.3% in 2017–18. The percentage has fallen since then to 2.3% in 2022–23.
The use of fines declined from 67.0% in 2006–07 to 1.4% in 2022–23. There was a spike in fines in 2006–07 because the Children’s Court processed large numbers of infringements at that time.
Youth control orders were imposed in 2 cases in 2022–23 (0.2% of cases sentenced). These orders have not been imposed in more than 0.2% of cases in any year since their introduction in 2018.
Note: The percentages in the graph include cases that received youth diversion. Youth diversion is not a sentence and does not result from a formal finding of guilt. However, it is an important disposition that the Children's Court can use to divert low-level offenders from the criminal justice system.
Percentage of cases sentenced in the Children’s Court, by sentencing outcome
Hover over the lines in the graph to display the sentencing outcome, year, number of cases and percentage of cases. Select and deselect sentencing outcomes using the key at the top of the graph. Double-click on the key to reset the graph.
Source: Court Services Victoria, unpublished data. Note that the data may be subject to revision to reflect amendments to records in Court Services Victoria’s databases.
