224Adjourning deferred sentence and period of deferral

224 Adjourning deferred sentence and period of deferral

(1) Subject to subsection (2), if the Children's Court defers sentencing a child under section 222, the Court must adjourn the case to a fixed date for sentence and release the child—

(a) unconditionally; or

(b) on bail in accordance with the Bail Act 1977.

(2) If the Children's Court is considering making a youth justice custodial order and the deferral of the sentence is to allow the child to participate in a pre-sentence group conference, the Court must adjourn the case to a fixed date for sentence and—

(a) release the child unconditionally; or

(b) release the child on bail in accordance with the Bail Act 1977; or

(c) remand the child in custody for a period not exceeding 21 clear days.

(3) The period for which sentencing may be deferred is—

(a) if the child is remanded in custody under subsection (2)(c), a period not exceeding 2 months; or

(b) otherwise, a period not exceeding 4 months.

(4) If a child is brought before the Children's Court on the expiry of a period of remand ordered under subsection (2)(c), the Court must not remand the child in custody for a further period exceeding 21 clear days.

(5) Bail must not be refused to a child on the sole ground that the child does not have any, or any adequate, accommodation.

1 The guiding youth justice principle set out in section 19(a) requires responses to offending by a child to focus on prevention, diversion and minimum intervention by ensuring that the child is subject to the minimum intervention that is necessary and appropriate in the circumstances with any deprivation of liberty being a last resort and for the minimum period appropriate.

2 There is a presumption in favour of proceeding by summons if an accused is a child, unless it would be clearly inappropriate to do so—see section 147(1).