2026 State Election Platform

Greens South Australia

Response from Greens South Australia

The full response from the Honourable Robert Simms MLC can be accessed here, or click through the below accordions for the response to specific issues.

Greens Policy "Justice Not Jail"

As part of The Greens’ recently released State Election Platform, the party announced its “Justice Not Jail” plan, which incorporates the following key initiatives:

  • Use an evidence-based approach to preventing and addressing crime.
  • Raise the age of incarceration from 10 to 14 years old as part of a world-class youth justice strategy.
  • Reduce recidivism through deterrent and rehabilitation programs.
  • Implement justice reinvestment to prevent crime.

The Law Society's Response

Building safer communities through safety nets and crime reduction measures

The Law Society supports the Greens' policy of investing more in support services and deterrent programs to reduce crime. The Greens platform reports that more than $200 million has been budgeted for prison expansions, with only a small proportion of that amount being spent on programs to divert people away from crime. The Law Society has made similar observations and has also advocated for preventative and diversionary measures to reduce crime and make communities safer.

The Greens’ policy includes $100 million over four years for rehabilitation, transitional housing, and longer-term housing options for those exiting prison. Significantly, the Greens are campaigning on doubling the current Bail Accommodation Support program.

Increasing bail accommodation is a key priority of the Law Society’s State Election Platform. There is currently a major shortage of bail accommodation, particularly for women, children, First Nations people, and those in regional areas. There is also a large and growing backlog of transitional housing for ex-prisoners in transitional accommodation awaiting suitable housing.

Justice reinvestment

The Greens have proposed an investment of $30 million over four years for justice reinvestment programs. Justice reinvestment refers to local community initiatives that focus on early intervention and prevention, and address the underlying issues that lead to criminal behaviour within those local communities.

Currently, there is one justice reinvestment program in SA - Tiraapendi Wodli – which covers the Port Adelaide/Enfield area and receives joint funding from the Department of Human Services and the Australian Red Cross.

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests justice reinvestment has a significant impact on reducing crime and improving social cohesion in areas that have typically experienced higher-than-average crime rates.

The Law Society understands that funding for Tiraapendi Wodli (TW) is not secured on an ongoing basis. The Society strongly supports investing in secure, long-term funding for TW and the establishment of other justice reinvestment hubs, with facilities that can accommodate a range of support services for at-risk members of the community.

Age of criminal responsibility

The Greens’ State Election Platform calls for an increase in the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years old, noting that imprisoning a young person costs $1.12 million per year – money which could be directed to effective and targeted prevention services.

The Law Society supports raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14. For this reform to be truly effective in improving social outcomes for children and enhancing community safety, there must be appropriate measures to support children aged under 14 who come into contact with police. For this initiative to work in diverting children from reoffending and detention, adequately resourced diversionary programs will need to be developed with “wrap-around” services that target at-risk young people and their parents or guardians.

Implement a Human Rights framework

The Greens strongly support establishing a Human Rights Act, including a right to housing and adequate shelter. In 2023, I moved a motion in State Parliament calling on the State Government to legislate a Human Rights Act. I am also a member of State Parliament’s Social Development Committee, which tabled a report in April this year recommending that the government legislate a Human Rights Act. The Greens further believe that a Human Rights Act must not only articulate a set of common values and principles that define and preserve our modern democracy but also require governments to act to address inequality, discrimination and lack of access to fundamental services, including the basic human right to housing and adequate shelter. We will be introducing a Human Rights Bill in the next parliamentary term.

Decriminalise sex work

The Greens strongly support the decriminalisation of sex work in South Australia. Decriminalisation decreases the incidence of violence against sex workers, decreases sex trafficking, reduces stigma for workers and their clients, and increases community health and safety.

Decriminalisation is the preferred legal framework for the majority of sex workers and sex work advocates. We will continue to champion legislative reform to decriminalise sex work in South Australia.

Enhanced access to justice through the Courts

The Greens strongly support implementing all the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence. This includes investment in appropriate facilities that support vulnerable witnesses to provide evidence in a dedicated witness suite located outside the court precinct.

Bail and post-release accommodation

The Greens strongly support addressing the criminogenic factors that increase a person’s likelihood of engaging in crime. When someone offends, especially young people, they are often experiencing disadvantage arising from homelessness, cognitive disability, drug and alcohol use, poverty, family breakdown, discrimination, and violence. The Greens propose addressing these factors while ensuring the justice system is equipped to provide pathways for rehabilitation and reform.

We will dedicate $100 million over four years to fund four additional dedicated rehabilitation and transitional housing services, along with longer-term housing and mental and physical health support for people released on bail who require additional assistance, so they are better connected to supported housing options.

The Greens want to see the existing Bail and Accommodation Support Program (BAPS) doubled, from 30 beds to 60 beds. This will support more people who need short-term housing and transitional support but do not have a space place to live. This includes dedicated support services for women who also require housing support.

Greater investment is required to strengthen referral pathways across the different touchpoints within the criminal justice system, from arrest to release. Strengthen referral pathways will support people living with a mental illness or disability and ensure that no one is punished for their disadvantage. Adequate funding for a range of wrap-around services, particularly transitional housing. can go a long way to addressing this.

Justice Reinvestment

The Greens recognise that community-led approaches that redirects funds from the criminal justice system towards place-based initiatives aimed at preventing crime and addressing the underlying causes of crime, can greatly improve justice outcomes for communities. There have been many successful examples of justice reinvestment initiatives in Australia. The Paul Ramsay Foundation undertook a portfolio review of their Justice Reinvestment Partnerships, $53.1 million in justice reinvestment, across 15 partnerships, five jurisdictions and 34 communities.1 They found that the investment prevented approximately 73 children and young people from returning to youth detention, and significantly reduced reoffending in communities.

In 2022, the cost to detain a child or young person in Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice facility was $3,827 a day per child (which equates to almost $1.4 million for a child detained for a full year). This is a considerable cost when on an average day 292 young people were under youth justice supervision, with approximately 30 children and young people held in Kurlana Tapa.2

The cost of adult incarceration is approximately $147,000 per prisoner per year. The Greens will redirect projected imprisonment and detention costs savings into justice reinvestment, with a target of $30 million over 4 years. We propose to open another three programs over 4 years, and for at least one of those to be established in regional South Australia.

Currently, Tiraapendi Wodli is the only active justice reinvestment site in South Australia. In the Australian context, justice reinvestment can help reduce the shameful over-representation of Aboriginal people in our prisons. Aboriginal young people in South Australia are 23 times more likely to be placed in detention than non-Aboriginal young people. These numbers are increasing. If the overrepresentation crisis is not addressed, South Australia risks losing another generation of First Nations peoples to the criminal justice system. By investing in First Nations communities, we can end this cycle.

1 Paul Ramsey Foundation, Justice Reinvestment Portfolio Review, (July 2025): 689d20d1d1be33c97be40961_JR-Portfolio-Review.pdf
2 Australian Government, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Youth Justice in Australia 2023-24, (28 March 2025): Youth justice in Australia 2023–24, South Australia - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Minimum age of criminal responsibly

The Greens will amend Section 5 of the Young Offenders Act 1993 in South Australia to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years in line with recommendations from the United Nations. It is unfathomable that in Australia, children who can still have their baby teeth are locked away in prison. Labor has back pedalled from considering raising the minimum age.

The Greens propose that money spent on jailing children and young people should instead be redirected into support services that include housing, women’s safety, support for children and in-community intervention and prevention programs.