356Procedure for indictable offences that may be heard and determined summarily

356 Procedure for indictable offences that may be heard and determined summarily S. 356(1) amended by Nos 7/2008 ss 7(1)(a), 8(a), 63/2014 s. 5(1)(a), 16/2020 s. 12, 54/2025 s. 14(1). (1) If a child is charged before the Court with an indictable offence, other than murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, child homicide, homicide by firearm, a designated offence committed when the child was aged 15 years or over, an offence against section 197A of the **Crimes Act** **1958** (arson causing death) or an offence against section 318 of the **Crimes Act 1958** (culpable driving causing death), the Court must, before the hearing of any evidence, inform the child and his or her parent, if present, that the child may object to the charge being heard and determined summarily. (2) If the parent of a child who— S. 356(2)(a) amended by Nos 7/2008 ss 7(1)(a), 8(a), 63/2014 s. 5(1)(b), 16/2020 s. 12. (a) is charged before the Court with an indictable offence, other than murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, child homicide, homicide by firearm, an offence against section 197A of the **Crimes Act 1958** (arson causing death) or an offence against section 318 of the **Crimes Act 1958** (culpable driving causing death); and (b) is under the age of 15 years— is not present before the Court, the Court may adjourn the hearing of the proceeding for the purpose of securing the parent's attendance or may proceed to hear and determine the proceeding in the parent's absence. S. 356(3) amended by Nos 7/2008 ss 7(1)(a), 8(a), 63/2014 s. 5(1)(c), 16/2020 s. 12, 54/2025 s. 14(2)(a). (3) If a child is charged before the Court with an indictable offence, other than murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, child homicide, homicide by firearm, a designated offence committed when the child was aged 15 years or over, an offence against section 197A of the **Crimes Act 1958** (arson causing death) or an offence against section 318 of the **Crimes Act 1958** (culpable driving causing death), the Court must hear and determine the charge summarily unless— (a) before the hearing of any evidence the child objects; or S. 356(3)(ab) inserted by No. 43/2017 s. 23(1). (ab) subsection (6) applies; or S. 356(3)(ac) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(2)(b). (ac) subsection (7A) applies; or S. 356(3)(ad) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(2)(b). (ad) subsection (7C) applies; or S. 356(3)(ae) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(2)(b). (ae) subsection (8A) applies; or (b) at any stage the Court considers that the charge is unsuitable by reason of exceptional circumstances to be determined summarily— and the Court must conduct a committal proceeding into the charge and, in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (b), must give reasons for declining to determine the charge summarily. S. 356(4) amended by Nos 7/2008 ss 7(1)(a), 8(a), 63/2014 s. 5(1)(d), 16/2020 s. 12. (4) If a child charged before the Court with an indictable offence, other than murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, child homicide, homicide by firearm, an offence against section 197A of the **Crimes Act 1958** (arson causing death) or an offence against section 318 of the **Crimes Act 1958** (culpable driving causing death), is— (a) under the age of 15 years; and (b) not legally represented— the child's parent may, for the purposes of subsection (3)(a), object on the child's behalf. (5) If the Court hears and determines summarily a charge against a child for an indictable offence, the Court may find the child not guilty of the offence charged but guilty of having attempted to commit the offence charged. S. 356(6) inserted by No. 43/2017 s. 23(2), amended by Nos 16/2020 s. 12, 54/2025 s. 14(3). (6) If a child is charged before the Court with an offence referred to in paragraph (f) of the definition of ***Category A serious youth offence*** in section 3(1) committed when the child was aged 16 years or over, the Court must not hear and determine the charge summarily unless— (b) the Court is satisfied that the sentencing options available to it under this Act are adequate to respond to the child's offending; and Note to s. 356(6) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(4). The offences referred to in paragraph (f) of the definition of ***Category A serious youth offence*** in section 3(1) are terrorism and foreign incursion offences. S. 356(7) inserted by No. 43/2017 s. 23(2), amended by No. 54/2025 s. 14(5). (7) In determining whether there is a substantial and compelling reason, under subsection (6)(c)(iii), why the charge should be heard and determined summarily, the Court must have regard to the intention of Parliament that a charge for an offence referred to in paragraph (f) of the definition of ***Category A serious youth offence*** in section 3(1) should not normally be heard and determined summarily. S. 356(7A) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(6). (7A) If a child is charged before the Court with a designated offence committed when the child was aged 14 years, the Court must not hear and determine the charge summarily unless— (b) the Court is satisfied that the sentencing options available to it under this Act are adequate to respond to the child's offending; and S. 356(7B) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(6). (7B) In determining whether there is a substantial and compelling reason, under subsection (7A)(c)(iii), why the charge should be heard and determined summarily, the Court must have regard to the intention of Parliament that a charge for a designated offence committed by a child aged 14 years should not normally be heard and determined summarily. S. 356(7C) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(6). (7C) If a child is charged before the Court with an offence against section 79 of the **Crimes Act 1958** (carjacking) committed when the child was aged 14 years or over, the Court must not hear and determine the charge summarily unless— (b) the Court is satisfied that the sentencing options available to it under this Act are adequate to respond to the child's offending; and S. 356(7D) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(6). (7D) In determining whether there is a substantial and compelling reason, under subsection (7C)(c)(iii), why the charge should be heard and determined summarily, the Court must have regard to the intention of Parliament that a charge for an offence against section 79 of the **Crimes Act 1958** (carjacking) committed when the child was aged 14 years or over should not normally be heard and determined summarily. S. 356(8) inserted by No. 43/2017 s. 23(2), amended by No. 54/2025 s. 14(7). (8) If a child is charged before the Court with an offence referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of ***Category B serious youth offence*** in section 3(1) committed when the child was aged 16 years or over, the Court must consider whether subsection (3) has the effect that the offence should not be heard and determined summarily. Note to s. 356(8) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(8). The offences referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of the definition of ***Category B serious youth offence*** in section 3(1) are rape and rape by compelling sexual penetration. S. 356(8A) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(9). (8A) The Court must not hear and determine summarily a charge against a child for an indictable offence if— (a) the child is committed for trial in respect of another indictable offence; and (b) the offences are related offences; and (c) the Court determines that there is no substantial and compelling reason to hear and determine the charge summarily. S. 356(8B) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(9). (8B) For the purposes of subsection (8A), an offence is related to another offence if— (a) the offence is founded on the same facts as the other offence; or (b) the offences together form, or are part of, a series of offences of the same or similar character. If an aggravated burglary and an armed robbery are part of a series of offences of the same or similar character, those offences are related offences for the purposes of subsection (8A). S. 356(9) inserted by No. 43/2017 s. 23(2), substituted by No. 3/2018 s. 26(1), amended by No. 8/2019 s. 90(2). (9) The Children's Court must hear and determine a charge summarily if it has been transferred to the Court under section 168 of the **Criminal Procedure Act 2009** because of the operation of section 168A of that Act. S. 356(10) inserted by No. 54/2025 s. 14(10). (10) In this section— ***designated offence*** has the same meaning as in section 516. S. 356A inserted by No. 43/2017 s. 5.