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Home Criminal Law Queensland Proposed Changes to Electronic Monitoring for Children (Qld)

Proposed Changes to Electronic Monitoring for Children (Qld)

The Queensland government this week introduced legislation that would make the use of electronic monitoring for young people on bail a permanent part of the state’s criminal law, as well as extending the situations where electronic monitoring may be imposed as a bail condition. This page outlines the proposed changes.

Introduction of electronic monitoring

The use of electronic monitoring for young people was introduced in Queensland as part of a 12-month trial that commenced in May 2021. The trial involved making electronic monitoring available as a bail condition for young people aged 16 and 17 who were serious repeat offenders in several regional locations.

When the 12-month trial was evaluated, it was found that uptake had been so low – with only eight young people placed on bail with an electronic monitoring condition – that no meaningful study could be done of the effectiveness of the practice.

However, it was found that it was possible to implement electronic monitoring as a bail condition for youth in Queensland. The trial was extended and expanded, with electronic monitoring made available in more locations and for children as young as 15.

Proposed changes

The Youth Justice (Electronic Monitoring) Amendment Bill 2025, if passed, would make the use of electronic monitoring for children granted bail in Queensland permanent. It would also extend the situations where electronic monitoring can be ordered.

Children as young as 10

The Bill removes the requirement that a young person must be at least 15 to have an electronic monitoring condition imposed as a bail condition. This means that any child who is old enough to be charged with a criminal offence could be required to comply with an electronic monitoring condition.

The age of criminal liability in Queensland is 10

All offences

The Bill removes the requirement that a young person must have been charged with or found guilty of a serious indictable offence. Without this requirement, courts will have the power to impose an electronic monitoring condition on any young person who is granted bail.

All of Queensland

The Bill extends the operation of the electronic monitoring provisions to all of Queensland. This means that a young person anywhere in Queensland could be made subject to electronic monitoring while on bail. The only exception to this is where a young person lives in an area where services are not available to administer electronic monitoring.

Expiration date removed

The Bill removes the expiration date from provisions relating to electronic monitoring. This means that the legislation, if passed, will be permanent law.

Rationale for the changes

The government has said that the trial of electronic monitoring for young people over the last four years has had good results, with young people who are subject to electronic monitoring conditions being more likely to successfully complete their bail. It has also said that there is no alternative means of ensuring that young offenders comply with bail conditions and do not reoffend.

Community responses

The proposed changes have been met with a range of responses.

Some supporters argue that electronic monitoring provides a less harmful alternative to the detention of young offenders, while others argue that stricter monitoring of young offenders is necessary, and that electronic monitoring has had positive results in reducing recidivism.

The Bill has been met with opposition and strong criticism from human rights groups and Indigenous organisations. Criticisms have included that ankle bracelets have a criminalising and stigmatising effect, and are unduly punitive for use on young people who have not yet been found guilty of offences.

A statement by Sisters Inside, an organisation that advocates for women and girls affected by incarceration, said that the proposal represented ‘the dangerous shift towards normalising carceral infrastructure as part of childhood.’

The Bill has been referred to a parliamentary committee, which will report on it by mid 2026. Reading

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Fernanda Dahlstrom

Content Editor

Fernanda Dahlstrom is a writer, editor and lawyer. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Latrobe University), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (College of Law), a Bachelor of Arts (The University of Melbourne) and a Master of Arts (Deakin University). Fernanda practised law for eight years, working in criminal law, child protection and domestic violence law in the Northern Territory, and in family law in Queensland.

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National Legal Hotline

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Proposed Changes to Electronic Monitoring for Children (Qld)

Introduction of electronic monitoring

Proposed changes

Children as young as 10

All offences

All of Queensland

Expiration date removed

Rationale for the changes

Community responses

Fernanda Dahlstrom

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