The Youth Koori Court (YKC) was established in response to the significant over-representation of Aboriginal young people in the criminal justice system. A pilot commenced in 2015 at Parramatta Children’s Court.
Following the success of the Youth Koori Court pilot in Parramatta, government funding was provided to expand the Youth Koori Court to Surry Hills in 2019. A third Youth Koori Court commenced at Dubbo on 24 March 2023.
Dubbo is the first regional location for the Youth Koori Court and follows its successful operation in Sydney CBD and Parramatta since 2015.
Dubbo is the first regional location for the Youth Koori Court and follows its successful operation in Sydney CBD and Parramatta since 2015.
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Best way to describe the Youth Koori Court in my view is to say it's an opportunity, it's an opportunity for young people who've come into trouble with the law often against a background of severe trauma to engage with people who care about them. Dubbo’s a high needs community but in addition Dubbo’s a really productive and culturally aware community. There are many people who can step up and provide meaningful services to the young people.
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The Youth Koori Court is a holistic diversionary approach it is a sentence in court so it's a completely different way of sentencing young people. So first of all, elders are involved so Aboriginal Elders from the community
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A lot of these kids are people that have been ignored. We can ask questions, they can ask questions. It lowers a lot of barriers and hopefully we can let them see that we're there for them They're not on their own.
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There are other service providers also involved that covers a wide range of things including their mental health, or education or help with what's going on at home.
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So my job entails overseeing and monitoring the action and support plan that's put in place in the Youth Koori court. And that could be referral support to other services, other service providers, Elders, cultural groups in the community and anything they need to complete the action and support plan.
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It’s hugely important to have Youth Koori Court in Dubbo. The supports and stuff it can put in place for young people are hugely beneficial both to them their family and hopefully generations into the future, changing attitudes in relation to policing and involvement with the criminal justice system.
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Evaluations of the Youth Koori Courts were published in May 2018 and June 2022. Those evaluations are linked below.
The Youth Koori Court (YKC) is a modified process within the usual Children’s Court process. It has the same powers as the Children’s Court but uses a different process to better involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, their families and the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in the court process.
With the assistance of elders and other respected people from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities, the Youth Koori Court seeks to identify risk factors, such as homelessness, disengagement from education, drug and alcohol issues or other health issues, that may be impacting on the young person’s involvement with the criminal justice system.
An Action and support plan is then developed with the young person to help them to address these risk factors and improve connections with their culture and their community.
The implementation of the Action and support plan is monitored by the YKC over a period of months and the young person is required to come back to court several times.
At the end of the process the judicial officer will sentence the young person taking into consideration the steps the young person has taken to address their issues.
For more information about the Youth Koori Court read:
Children’s Court Practice Note 11
Youth Koori Court factsheet (PDF, 191.0 KB)
Youth Koori Court Casework Coordinator (PDF, 182.5 KB)
Western Sydney University - Youth Koori Court: Review of the Parramatta Pilot Project (May 2018) (PDF, 4.5 MB)
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research - The impact of the NSW Youth Koori Court on sentencing and re-offending outcomes (April 2022) (PDF, 604.6 KB)
Inside Policy - An evaluation of the Youth Koori Court Process (June 2022) (PDF, 3.6 MB)
Resources for Community Panel Members:
YKC Community Panel Member Expression of Interest (PDF, 208 KB)
YKC Community Panel Member Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 204 KB)
YKC Community Panel Member Information Sheet (PDF, 195 KB)
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