A remote program instead of custody
Queensland has passed the Youth Justice (Circuit Breaker) Amendment Act 2026, which sets up a Queensland circuit breaker program for children in the youth justice system. The Act starts on a day to be set by proclamation, so it is not yet in force.
A circuit breaker program is residential. It runs at a remote or rural site and is delivered by a provider prescribed by regulation. The Act describes it as intensive and highly structured, with education, training, mentoring, access to a rural property and activities to help children return to the community.
When a court can order it on bail
A court can make the Queensland circuit breaker program a condition of bail only if the chief executive’s suitability report says the child is suitable and a place is available. The child must not have received a circuit breaker sentence before, and the court must be satisfied the condition is appropriate and that it would otherwise have kept or remanded the child in custody.
A child on a Queensland circuit breaker bail condition must wear a monitoring device, follow the chief executive’s directions and live at the site unless they are approved to leave.
Three to six months as a sentence
The Act also lets a court impose a Queensland circuit breaker order of at least three and no more than six months, on the same eligibility rules. If a child breaches it, the court can extend the order, up to six months in total, or resentence the child to detention, with credit for time already served on the order.
Related: Amanda Stoker replaces Amanda Camm as Queensland child safety minister
General information only, not legal advice. Check the official source before acting.
Source: Queensland Legislation. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
