The Chris Minns Labor government wants to extend its 2024 youth bail crackdown in regional New South Wales, saying on September 15 it will remove the sunset clause to a law targeting 14- to 17-year-olds who have been charged with a serious motor theft or break and enter crimes and are on conditional release.

NSW Labor announced its “crack down” on young people in 2024 as Victoria, the Northern Territory and Queensland were rolling out similar laws.

The Justice Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill (No 2) 2026, introduced on September 15, includes an amendment to section 22C of the Bail Act 2013 (NSW) which removes the October 1 sunset clause. It will be extended until April 4, 2028.

The Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT (ALS) criticised the move as discriminatory as it targets First Nations youth and “will only entrench them in a cycle of crime and disadvantage”.

After less than year in operation, the ALS confirmed that more than 80% of alleged youth offenders had been refused bail with 90% of them being Aboriginal.

However, a federal parliament inquiry, Australia’s Youth Justice and Incarceration System, challenged the notion that there even is a youth crime crisis. “Evidence revealed that as the detention of children often leads to higher rates of re-offending, a punitive approach to youth justice undermines rather than contributes to community safety,” it too said as part of its recommendations.

Bail refusal, tailored programs, drones

Labor said that it had always wanted to extend the law until 2028. It said that it “requires a judge to have a high degree of confidence the accused will not offend while on bail”, prior to granting it.

Section 22C also stipulates that “to avoid doubt, the requirement under this section to establish that bail should........

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