What's happening in parliament - August 2024

In this blog post we take a closer look into the passage of the Youth Justice Bill 2024 through parliament, hear from one of the parliamentary officers working in the Legislative Council during the Committee of the whole stage, and link to some further reading.

 

The passage of the Youth Justice Bill 2024

The length of time a bill takes to pass through parliament can vary a lot. The information below provides the key moments in parliament for the Youth Justice Bill 2024.

Passage through the Legislative Assembly

• 18 June -  The bill is introduced to the Legislative Assembly by the Minister for Police and Crime Prevention on.
• 1 August – The bill passes the Legislative Assembly

Passage through the Legislative Council

• 1 August – The bill is introduced in the Legislative Council
• 15 August – The bill enters the Committee of the whole (an optional stage of the Second reading in the Legislative Council where members debate, ask questions and propose amendments for each clause). The Committee of the whole began on Thursday 15 August and was completed in the early hours of Friday 16 August, with the bill amended.
• 16 August – The bill passes the Legislative Council

Amendments agreed to

• 27 August – The Legislative Assembly agreed to the amendments made by the Legislative Council

Royal assent

• The bill is currently awaiting Royal Assent

 

The process of passing the bill

One of our parliamentary officers, Vivienne, had a front row seat to the passage of the bill through the Legislative Council (including the late night / early morning Committee of the whole session). Vivienne took some time to provide some further insights into the bill itself and its journey through the Legislative Council.

 

What is the Youth Justice Bill 2024 about?

The Youth Justice Bill 2024 proposes to replace the current youth justice legislative framework in Victoria with a standalone Principal Act. While much of the existing system is simply being re-enacted in the new legislation, a number of major changes have been made. Some of the most notable changes are:

• raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old
• codifying the common law principle that a child younger than 14 years old lacks the capacity to be criminally responsible for their actions (doli incapax)
• promotion of diversionary and restorative justice processes
• introduction of a trial of electronic monitoring of children on bail
• embedding self-determination for First Nations people across the youth justice framework.

What was unusual about the passage of this bill?

The most notable aspects of the passage of this bill was the very long Committee of the whole stage in the Legislative Council, and the large number of amendments to the bill that were proposed and considered.

A total of 639 amendments were circulated, by Government, Opposition, Greens and Legalise Cannabis Victoria MPs. These amendments covered 58 individual policy proposals that were considered during the Committee stage. All of the Government amendments as well as some of the Opposition and Greens amendments were supported by the Council.

The Committee stage itself went for longer than nine hours, with the Council sitting past 1.30am to finish its consideration of the bill.

 

“ 'A total of 639 amendments were circulated ... These amendments covered 58 individual policy proposals' ”

 

 

Can you explain the Committee of the whole process and why it is important?

The Committee of the whole stage in the Legislative Council is the opportunity for MPs to consider the text of a bill in detail, clause by clause, and to propose changes to that text. It is also an important opportunity for MPs to ask questions of the responsible Minister about the Government’s intended operation of the proposed law.

The procedure for the Committee stage is more flexible and less formal than it is for other stages of the bill, with MPs able to speak and ask questions an unlimited number of times. The Committee stage is optional and is sometimes skipped if MPs agree that a particular bill does not require a detailed examination.

The Committee stage is a key part of the Legislative Council’s role as the ‘House of Review’. That is, as the upper house in a bicameral system, the Council fulfils an important function of scrutinising the Government and its proposed legislation. As a result, this type of examination usually only occurs in the upper house.

 

“ "The Committee stage is a key part of the Legislative Council’s role as the House of Review.' ”

 

The Consideration in detail stage in the Legislative Assembly is the equivalent of the Committee of the whole stage in the Legislative Council. While it is always open to the Assembly to undertake Consideration in detail on any of its bills, it is a rare occurrence.

 

Why was it important that the Committee of the whole took place on the Youth Justice Bill?

The Youth Justice Bill is a significant reform of the existing legal framework that governs the youth justice system in Victoria. It is far-reaching legislation that affects young people across the entire state, dictating how they access and interact with the justice system. This bill has also been brought forward amid an increase in recorded youth offending in Victoria.

There is a broad range of views across the community and represented in the Legislative Council about how the youth justice system should operate, in what areas it is working well, and how it can be improved. The Committee stage provided an important opportunity for these views to be aired and tested in the context of the new framework and for improvements to be made to the proposed laws.

 

“ 'The Youth Justice Bill is a significant reform of the existing legal framework that governs the youth justice system in Victoria.' ”

 

Is there anything special about the passage of this bill, considering it is a new bill rather than an amendment to an existing law?

Surprisingly, no. The process for considering bills in parliament is the same, regardless of how detailed or how big the bill in question is.

Rather, the main difference in the consideration of bills containing major or significant legislation compared to bills that propose relatively minor changes is the time taken by parliament to consider them. As noted above, the Committee stage is sometimes skipped if the Council agrees a detailed examination is not necessary on a particular bill. Similarly, the time taken for other stages, such as the second reading debate, is often reflective of how detailed or significant a proposed bill is or isn’t.

 

Further information

The Victorian Legislation website has a copy of the Youth Justice Bill 2024. It includes the explanatory memorandum, the introduction print of the bill, the statement of compatibility, circulated amendments, the amended bill and the status of the bill.

The Parliamentary Library often produces bill briefs for MPs, parliamentary staff and the public. The Youth Justice Bill 2024 bill brief includes a comprehensive overview of the background of the bill, key themes, stakeholder responses and an overview of what other jurisdictions.

The report from the Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee’s Inquiry into Victoria’s Criminal Justice System provided 73 findings and made 100 recommendations. One of these recommendations, including raising the age of criminal responsibility (Recommendation 10).