House of Representatives

Supplementary Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Treasurer, the Hon Peter Costello, MP)

General outline and financial impact

General Outline

The Crimes Amendment (Age Determination) Bill 2001 ('the Bill') contains important measures to permit prescribed procedures to determine a person's age, where that person is suspected of having committed a Commonwealth offence, or charged with a Commonwealth offence, and where it is not practicable to determine a person's age by other means.

These measures are desirable because in many cases the suspected offenders are relatively young; and it can be difficult to ascertain whether a given suspect is a juvenile or an adult. The adult/juvenile distinction is important for determining whether:

(1)

special investigatory safeguards directed at juveniles are applicable;

(2)

the suspect should be prosecuted in an adult or juvenile court;

(3)

the suspect should be detained in an adult or juvenile detention facility; and

(4)

a conviction should lead to adult or juvenile punishments.

Financial Impact

The amendments will have no financial impact.