Youth Justice Act 2024

If a child completes a diversion program to the satisfaction of the Children's Court—

no plea to the charge is to be taken, or if a plea to the charge was withdrawn under section 193(4), no further plea to the charge is to be taken; and

the Court must discharge the child without any finding of guilt; and

the fact of participation in the diversion program is not to be treated as a finding of guilt except for the purposes of—

Division 1 of Part 3 and Part 10 of the Confiscation Act 1997; and

section 9 of the Control of Weapons Act 1990; and

section 151 of the Firearms Act 1996; and

Part 4 of the Sentencing Act 1991; and

the fact of participation in the diversion program and the discharge of the child is a defence to a later charge for the same offence or a similar offence arising out of the same circumstances.

If a child does not complete a diversion program to the satisfaction of the Children's Court and the child is subsequently found guilty of the charge, the Court must take into account the extent to which the child complied with the diversion program when sentencing the child.