When you were charged with an offence, the police should have given you some paperwork and your court hearing will be on that paperwork. At your hearing the matter may be adjourned for another date. If this happens, a sheriff’s officer will give you a piece of paper with the details of your next hearing.
If you can’t find that paperwork, you can call the Registry on (08) 8204 0331 and provide your name and date of birth and a court officer will tell you when your next court date is.
The Registry can also provide the date and time of the next hearing to immediate family members.
Contact the Legal Services Commission Youth Legal Service for support. Alternatively, you can seek your own legal representation.
There are also other support services that operate at the Youth Court.
If you are on bail and don’t turn up to your hearing, the Court may issue a warrant for your arrest. If you know that you are unable to attend your hearing, you should contact your lawyer as soon as possible. If you are unable to attend Court due to illness, you will need to provide a medical certificate to the Court as soon as possible and you should advise the Court in advance.
You can contact your lawyer or the Youth Court Registry directly. If you would like something in writing, you will need to come into the Registry and ask for a certificate of record.
You will need to fill out an Application to Vary Bail form and lodge it at the Registry. The Registry will find a hearing date and time and you will need to attend at the Court hearing. If your bail is varied, you will need to sign the new bail agreement in the presence of a justice of the peace before leaving Court.
Before the first hearing, the applicant will serve a copy of the Application on every party (the child, parents and guardians). On the first page of the Application the hearing date and time will be provided. At the first hearing, the matter may be adjourned for another date. If this happens, a sheriff’s officer will give a piece of paper to all of the parties with the details of the next hearing.
If you can’t find your paperwork, you can call the Registry on (08) 8204 0331 and ask when the next hearing is. You will need to provide the full name and date of birth of one of the children in the matter.
In all Care and Protection matters the child is represented by a child advocate, who is usually one of the solicitors from the Legal Services Commission.
The parents and guardians are not provided with a solicitor, but are encouraged to seek legal advice.
The Youth Court may be able to arrange a video or phone link for you so that you can attend from another location, usually your closest courthouse.
Usually a link will be arranged for you by the Department for Child Protection. However, if you need to change a link or need a link unexpectedly, you will need to put your request in writing to the Youth Court at least 24 hours before your hearing.
Children in Care and Protection matters can attend the hearing if they wish, but do not have to.
Parents and guardians are required to attend the hearing if they are contesting the matter. If parents/guardians do not attend, then final orders may be made in their absence.
If you know that you are unable to attend a hearing, you should contact your lawyer as soon as possible. If you are not represented, you should contact the Youth Court Registry. If you are unable to attend Court due to illness, you will need to provide a medical certificate to the Court as soon as possible and you should advise the Court in advance.
Youth Treatment Orders are orders that the Youth Court can make which require a young person to attend drug assessment and treatment. Youth Treatment Orders can only be made if the young person is subject to detention at Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre.
For more information, visit the Youth Treatment Order page.
A Youth Treatment Order will be the minimum duration possible and can only last as long as the young person is subject to detention at Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre and be no longer than 12 months.
When an application for a Youth Treatment Order is made, the young person will be offered a free legal representative. The free legal representative will contact the young person when an application for a Youth Treatment Order is made.
Other people involved in a Youth Treatment Order application may also wish to seek legal representation.
The Legal Services Commission provides general legal assistance and can be contacted on 1300 860 529. Alternatively, the State Government funds Community Legal Centres to provide free legal assistance services for people who can’t afford private legal services. Information about Community Legal Centres in South Australia can be found at www.clcsa.org.au. The Law Society of South Australia can also be contacted by phoning 8229 0200. The Law Society provides a legal advisory and referral service.
Yes. The applicant and the young person will need be involved in hearings in the Youth Court with their lawyer, support person or advocate. This could mean going to Court once, or going to Court a few times.
The only time this may not happen is if the Court thinks that an urgent order needs to be made, and there isn’t enough time to get everyone to Court. If this happens, the order will be temporary, so everyone still has a chance to respond.
To make sure that the young person can be involved, the Youth Court will issue something called a ‘Gaol Order’. This order will allow the young person to travel from Kurlana Tapa to Court to attend hearings.
Six weeks is the minimum time it takes for a young person to receive court-ordered treatment for drug dependency. As such, applications should only be made if the young person will be subject to detention at Kurlana Tapa for at least another six weeks.
This timeframe accounts for a number of steps that must occur to protect the rights and wellbeing of young people, and to make sure any treatment can be meaningful. For more information, visit the Youth Treatment Order page.
People involved in a Youth Treatment Order application can have a lawyer to go to court with them. They can also have a support person or an advocate. For example, a friend, a family member or a different advocate.
If you are a young person and you are worried about Youth Treatment Orders, there are people you can talk to. Some examples include:
• your lawyer
• Kurlana Tapa staff
• the Training Centre Visitor
• the Guardian for Children and Young People
• the Youth Court.
You have 14 days to appeal a Youth Treatment Order once it is made by the Youth Court. Talk to your lawyer urgently if you want to appeal the order.
You can also apply to vary (change) or revoke (cancel) the order. For more information, visit the Youth Treatment Order page on the Courts Administration Authority website.
If the young person wishes to vary or revoke the order, they must have the permission of the Youth Court. The Court will only grant this permission if their circumstances have changed a lot since the order was made. The young person can ask their legal representative to help with this.
Yes. If you are an Aboriginal young person, you can be supported by an Aboriginal Youth Justice Officer.