Queensland Consolidated Acts

YOUTH JUSTICE ACT 1992 - SECT 176

176 Sentence orders—life and other significant offences

(1) If a child is found guilty of a relevant offence before a court presided over by a judge (
"the court" ), the court, may—

(a) order the child to be placed on probation for a period not longer than 3 years; or

(b) make a detention order against the child under subsection (2) or (3) .

(2) For a relevant offence other than a life offence, the court may order the child to be detained for a period not more than 7 years.

(3) For a relevant offence that is a life offence, the court may order that the child be detained for—

(a) a period not more than 10 years; or

(b) a period up to and including the maximum of life, if—

(i) the offence involves the commission of violence against a person; and

(ii) the court considers the offence to be a particularly heinous offence having regard to all the circumstances.

(4) A court may make an order for a child’s detention under subsection (2) or (3) with or without a conditional release order under section 220 .

(5) A court may make an order for a child’s detention under subsection (3) , with or without an order under division 10 , subdivision 5 .

(6) The Criminal Code , section 305 (2) , (3) and (4) applies to a court sentencing a child to detention for life on a conviction of murder.

Note—

For the child’s parole eligibility, see section 233 of this Act and the Corrective Services Act 2006 , section 181 .

(7) Subsection (6) applies despite section 155 .

(8) For the purpose of subsection (6) , a reference in the Criminal Code , section 305 to imprisonment is taken to be a reference to detention.

(9) This section does not limit a court’s power to make an order under section 175 .

(10) In this section—

"relevant offence" means a life offence, or an offence of a type that, if committed by an adult, would make the adult liable to imprisonment for 14 years or more, but does not include any of the following offences—

(a) an offence of receiving if the value of the property, benefit or detriment is not more than $5,000;

(b) an offence against the Criminal Code , section 419 or 421 , if—

(i) the offence involved stealing or an intent to steal, or an intent to destroy or damage property, or the damage or destruction of property; and

(ii) the offender was not armed or pretending to be armed when the offence was committed; and

(iii) the value of any property stolen, damaged or destroyed was not more than $1,000;

(c) an offence that, if committed by an adult, may be dealt with summarily under the Drugs Misuse Act 1986 , section 13 .