Recent Developments in Bail Supervision of Young People in New South Wales (Australia)

There has been considerable attention on young people and bail in recent years in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). Legislative changes in 2024 and extended in 2025 have made it twice as hard for young people who commit certain offences while on bail to receive subsequent bail. In response to these reforms and a rising remand population, Youth Justice NSW temporarily augmented its bail support programmes and now provides formal supervision to some young people on bail where offending has not yet been proven – something the government agency has historically resisted due to concerns about net-widening and the undermining of young people's presumption of innocence. This article considers nine rarely published decisions of the Supreme Court of NSW to explore judicial opinions on youth bail support programmes and examine the implications of modifying pre-trial supervision policies in NSW. In doing so, this article uses these decisions to explore the broader policy considerations behind programmes that utilise needs-based support and formal supervision to increase a young person's likelihood of receiving or remaining on bail. In particular, it explores the potential impact of these programmes on net-widening and young people's presumption of innocence. It recommends that Youth Justice NSW's temporary Bail Casework programme be offered to more young people at risk of remand as a way to decrease reliance on harmful pre-trial detention and reduce the remand population while addressing issues impacting potential bail non-compliance.