Instead, Justice Reform Initiative claims, it will push more young people into an overcrowded youth detention system that is failing to rehabilitate children, reduce reoffending or improve community safety. 

Anne Hollonds AO, former National Children’s Commissioner and Justice Reform Initiative spokesperson, said the announcement that youth offenders who commit serious crimes while on bail will face mandatory jail time was the latest example of a Government doubling down on an approach the evidence consistently shows does not work. 

“Locking up more children for breaching bail will not make Queensland safer,” Hollonds said.  

“It will push more children into a system we already know increases the likelihood they will offend again.”

The Breach Bail, Go to Jail phase of Adult Crime, Adult Time will be law by the end of 2026, with further consultation to occur to determine the length of the mandatory sentence in line with community expectations and will be announced when the legislation is introduced to Parliament.  

Premier David Crisafulli, who announced the bolstered bail law proposal to LNP party faithful at its convention in Brisbane, said Breach Bail, Go to Jail would continue making Queensland safer, and “build on the progress already turning the tide on youth crime”.  

“Breach Bail Go to Jail is the next phase of Adult Crime, Adult Time, which is holding youth offenders accountable for the first time in a long time,” Crisafulli said. 

“We’re heading in the right direction and we’ve heard from Queenslanders who are telling us to keep going, and we will...  

“We promised to make Queensland safer and while we know the monumental task this is, we know our Adult Crime, Adult Time plan is working and we’re going to continue rolling out stronger laws to restore safety.” 

Katherine Hayes, chief executive of the Youth Advocacy Centre, told ABC News that corrective service facilities were already under significant strain.

“The detention centres are overflowing with kids at the moment, so there are kids already in adult watch houses for up to two weeks,” she said.

“The system’s already at capacity, and I can’t see that there’s any room to accommodate more kids.”

Hayes said Queensland already had the harshest youth bail laws in the country.

“There is an offence for breaching bail conditions and there’s the use of electronic monitoring devices,” she said.

“We're already locking up kids much more than the rest of Australia, more than New South Wales and Victoria combined.

“So, it’s a bit of a fallacy that we don't have harsh laws already.”

Hollonds acknowledged children should be accountable for their actions, but accountability should reduce the chances of them reoffending.

“This policy does the opposite. It guarantees more children spend more time behind bars at exactly the point when intervention and support are most likely to change the course of their lives.” 

By not providing explicit details about how the policy will be implemented, Hollonds said the Government again failed to grapple with the practical consequences of its own policy. 

“This is a slogan dressed up as policy,” she said.

“Queensland’s youth detention centres are already overcrowded and struggling to operate safely.

“Children are spending extended periods locked in their rooms because there aren’t enough staff to supervise them, and workers have repeatedly warned the system is under enormous strain.

“Introducing another law designed to increase the number of children in custody without addressing those realities is a recipe for making a bad situation worse.” 

Hollonds said the evidence from Australia and overseas was clear about what works to reduce offending and reoffending. 

“Communities deserve to be safe, and governments have a responsibility to invest in what actually reduces crime,” she said.

“We know what works: intensive bail support, early intervention, diversion, family support, community-led programs and First Nations place based programs that stop children entering the justice system in the first place.

Every dollar spent expanding a failing detention system is a dollar not invested in preventing the next victim, Hollonds explained. 

“If the Government is serious about reducing crime, it needs to stop announcing slogans and start investing in the solutions that prevent crime before it happens and keep communities safer.”