Download Plain Banner - Department of Human Services, Victoria, Australia

Youth Parole and Youth Residential Boards of Victoria
The Youth Residential Board and Youth Parole Board are established by sections 431 and 442 respectively of the
Children, Youth and Families Act 2005. The Boards exercise jurisdiction over all young people sentenced by a
court to a period of detention in a youth justice custodial centre and over young people transferred by the Adult
Parole Board from imprisonment in adult prison to serve their sentence in a youth justice centre.
Parole allows young people on a youth justice centre order (15–20 year olds) or youth residential centre order
(10–14 year olds) to serve part of a custodial sentence in the community. Parole workers at regional youth justice
units supervise young people on parole orders.
The Youth Parole Board and Youth Residential Board may be seen to be the one Board (as the same members
make up both Boards). However, legislatively they are two distinctly different Boards, with jurisdiction over two
separate groups of young people in detention.
The Boards are made up of a chairperson, being a judge of the County Court, two community members (one of
whom must be a female) and one member from the Department of Human Services. All sitting members have an
alternate member who is able to sit in their absence. The Board members are appointed for a period of up to three
years and may be re-appointed.
Courts imposing sentences of detention in a youth justice custodial centre do not have the option of setting a
minimum term to be served in custody. The Boards have discretion in determining parole eligibility and each case
is taken on its own merits. The Boards have a schedule whereby they generally consider parole at a time which is
dependent on the length of the sentence. The general rule for the Boards is to consider all sentences of six
months or more as eligible for parole. For sentences of less than six months, remissions up to one third of the
sentence may be granted.
The Boards make decisions concerning the granting of parole, variation or cancellation of parole and transfers
between jurisdictions. In 2009–10 the Boards paroled 233 males and 16 females on youth justice centre orders
and seven males on youth residential centre orders.
The Boards generally meet on a fortnightly basis. The Boards receive and consider case histories, client service
plans, parole review reports, psychiatric and psychological reports and progress reports on young people in
custody and on parole to assist in their decision-making.
The Youth Parole and Youth Residential Boards are committed to the rehabilitation and best outcomes for young
people under their jurisdiction. They make decisions within a framework that balances the needs of the young
person with community safety considerations. The Boards work closely with custodial staff and parole officers to
assist young offenders to address problems, smoothly transition into the community and successfully complete
their parole period.
Department of Human Services
Youth Services and Youth Justice Branch, 24 September 2010