The Minister for Youth Justice, formerly Minister for Juvenile Justice, is a ministry in the administration of New South Wales. The position supports the Attorney General and has occasionally been held concurrently with that office.
Role and responsibilities Prior to 1873 there were two legal officers in the ministry, Attorney General and the Solicitor General, however there was only one portfolio, the law officers of the crown. The Attorney was the senior law officer and responsible for the work of the Solicitor-General, Crown Solicitors, parliamentary draftsmen, the administration of the courts and supporting officers such as the Sheriff and Coroner. The Solicitor General represented the crown in court, provided legal advice to the government, drafted bills and helped to prepare civil and criminal litigation. (1988 Autumn) Bar News: Journal of the NSW Bar Association 22.
When the Attorney General Edward Butler resigned, the Solicitor General Joseph Innes was promoted to first law officer. Innes was not however replaced as Solicitor General. Instead Parkes created the new ministry of justice and public instruction. The minister assumed responsibility for the administration of the courts, sheriff and coroner, as well as the Council of Education, orphan schools, the public library, Australian Museum and observatory. The first minister George Allen, was a solicitor who had a particular interest in education, having previously served as a commissioner of National education, supported the incorporation of the Sydney Grammar School and having a seat on the Council of Education immediately prior to his appointment as responsible minister.
Prisons remained the responsibility of the Colonial Secretary. In 1880 the ministry was split into the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Instruction.
Prior to 1880 the Minister of Justice and Public Instruction was responsible for the administration of the courts, sheriff and coroner, as well as the Council of Education, orphan schools, the public library, Australian Museum and observatory. In 1880 the ministry was split into the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Instruction following the passage of the Public Instruction Act of 1880 which required a minister to assume the responsibilities of the former Council of Education.
The minister also assumed responsibility for prisons which had previously been the responsibility of the Colonial Secretary, however the Colonial Secretary retained responsibility for police. The Minister for Justice was briefly responsible for Police from 1974 until 1975. In 1978 the minister ceased to be responsible for prisons which became the responsibility of the Minister for Corrective Services.
The ministry was held by the Attorney General in the third to sixth Wran ministries and was formally subsumed into the responsibilities of the Attorney General in the seventh Wran ministry in 1984. The portfolio was re-created in 1991, known for three weeks as the Minister for Courts Administration and Corrective Services, before returning to the name Minister for Justice. The ministry was abolished in the First Carr ministry in 1995, with justice returning to be the responsibility of the Attorney General, and juvenile justice being the responsibility of a separate minister. It was re-created in the Fourth Carr ministry in 2003 and was abolished in the Rees ministry in 2011. The portfolio was re-created in the O'Farrell ministry in 2011, combined with the portfolio of police in 2015 and was abolished in the first Berejiklian ministry in 2017, replaced by the Minister for Counter Terrorism.
Ministers Title Minister Party Term start Term end Time in office Notes Minister for Juvenile Justice
8 April 1999 2 April 2003
2 April 2003 3 August 2005
3 August 2005 2 April 2007
2 April 2007 11 April 2007
11 April 2007 5 September 2008
8 September 2008 5 June 2010
5 June 2010 28 March 2011
Minister for Mental Health
28 March 2023 5 April 2023
Minister for Youth Justice 5 April 2023 present
Former ministerial titles Justice
Title Minister Party Term start Term end Time in office Notes Minister of Justice and Public Instruction MLA None 9 December 1873 8 February 1875
MLC 9 February 1875 21 March 1877
MLA 22 March 1877 16 August 1877
MLA 17 August 1877 17 December 1877
MLA 18 December 1877 20 December 1878
21 December 1878 30 April 1880
Minister of Justice 1 May 1880 10 August 1880
11 August 1880 13 October 1881
14 October 1881 4 January 1883
5 January 1883 6 October 1885
7 October 1885 9 October 1885
2 November 1885 21 December 1885
22 December 1885 4 February 1886
26 February 1886 19 January 1887
20 January 1887 16 January 1889
17 January 1889 7 March 1889
8 March 1889 22 October 1891
23 October 1891 14 December 1893
15 December 1893 2 August 1894
3 August 1894 15 August 1898
17 August 1898 3 July 1899
3 July 1899 13 September 1899
14 September 1899 9 April 1901
11 April 1901 16 July 1901
22 July 1901 14 June 1904
15 June 1904 29 August 1904
29 August 1904 20 December 1909
21 December 1909 20 October 1910
21 October 1910 1 April 1912
2 April 1912 15 November 1916
15 November 1916 23 July 1919
23 July 1919 12 April 1920
12 April 1920 21 December 1920
22 December 1920 10 October 1921
20 December 1921 20 December 1921 7 hours
20 December 1921 13 April 1922
13 April 1922 17 June 1925
17 June 1925 7 June 1927
8 June 1927 18 October 1927
Minister for Justice
18 October 1927 3 November 1930
4 November 1930 17 June 1931
17 June 1931 13 May 1932
16 May 1932 17 June 1932
18 June 1932 16 August 1939
16 August 1939 16 May 1941
19 May 1941 31 May 1960
31 May 1960 13 May 1965
13 May 1965 11 May 1976
14 May 1976 19 October 1978
19 October 1978 1 February 1983
1 February 1983 5 April 1984
Minister for Justice
28 June 1991 23 September 1992
23 September 1992 22 October 1992
22 October 1992 26 May 1993
26 May 1993 4 April 1995 Minister for Justice
2 April 2003 3 August 2005
3 August 2005 2 April 2007
2 April 2007 30 January 2009 Minister for Justice
3 April 2011 17 April 2014
23 April 2014 2 April 2015 Minister for Justice and Police
2 April 2015 30 January 2017
Notes
References