Download a PDF copy of Appendix C: Review scope and method.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix B: Abbreviations, acronyms and glossary.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix A: Submissions and comments.

The department's guidelines for the program allow for a flexible range of support services to be delivered under a place-based approach. In practice, this means that program approaches, activities and processes vary considerably by organisation. It is unclear to what extent this variation reflects local needs.

The department’s eligibility criteria for the program are broad. It includes children and young adults aged 10 to 24 who have either offended or have a ‘demonstrated risk’ of doing so. In practice, this means that the nature and number of participants vary between organisations delivering the program.

We found no evidence that the program is reducing offending. 

The department described it as a ‘proven’ initiative. But its program evaluations have not used any targets or benchmarks to measure what success in reducing youth offending looks like, so it cannot show the program works as intended. 

We made 2 recommendations to address our findings. The agency has accepted the recommendations in full. 
 

What we examined

Our review followed 2 lines of inquiry:

1. Is the program delivering services to high-risk young people as intended?

2. Is the program contributing to reducing the incidence and severity of youth (re)offending?

To answer these questions, we examined:

Download a PDF copy of Appendix C: Review scope and method.

Download a PDF copy of Appendix B: Abbreviations, acronyms and glossary.