Queensland Consolidated Acts

YOUTH JUSTICE ACT 1992 - SECT 146

146 Extension of Act for detainee offender

(1) In this section—

"detainee" means a person serving a period of detention under a sentence order.

(2) If—

(a) a proceeding is started against a detainee for an offence committed within the period of 1 year after the detainee ceased to be a child; and

(b) the proceeding is started within 1 year of the commission of the offence;

the detainee may be treated as a child for the purpose of the proceeding.

(3) A court may treat the detainee as a child if it considers this appropriate, for example because—

(a) treatment of the detainee as an adult would disrupt the application of an existing sentence order; or

(b) the offence was committed in a detention centre in circumstances suggesting that the detainee should be treated as a child in relation to the offence; or

(c) a recommendation made by the chief executive or in a pre-sentence report supports the treatment of the detainee as a child.

(4) A court may act under this section on application by a party to the proceeding or on its own initiative.