Children (Amendment) Act 2015

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Persons who attain 18 years of age while detained

11. (1) The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 155—

“Persons who attain 18 years of age while detained

155. (1) Where—

(a) a person is detained in a children detention school on foot of a children detention order following conviction for an offence, and

(b) the person’s 18th birthday (which in this section shall be known as the ‘relevant date’) will occur before the period of detention specified in the order expires,

that person shall serve any period of detention remaining to be served on the relevant date in a place that shall be determined in accordance with this section.

(2) The Director shall, before the relevant date, request the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to authorise, under subsection (3), the transfer of a person referred to in subsection (1) on the relevant date or not later than 7 days from that date.

(3) On receiving a request under subsection (2), the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs shall, before the relevant date and after consultation with the Minister, authorise the transfer of the person to such—

(a) place of detention provided under section 2 of the Act of 1970, or

(b) prison,

as the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, having consulted with the Minister, considers appropriate, to serve the period of detention that remains to be served by that person on the date that he or she is transferred.

(4) On receiving an authorisation under subsection (3), the Director shall transfer the person to the place of detention or prison concerned on the relevant date or not later than 7 days from that date.

(5) Notwithstanding subsections (2), (3) and (4), if—

(a) a person is engaged in a course of education or training in the children detention school, or

(b) the period of detention remaining to be served by a person in the children detention school on the relevant date is 6 months or less,

the Director may, instead of making a request under subsection (2), determine that the person shall continue to be detained in the children detention school for a period not exceeding 6 months from the relevant date.

(6) Where a Director has made a determination under subsection (5) that a person shall continue to be detained in a children detention school for a period not exceeding 6 months from the relevant date and—

(a) before the period has elapsed, the person—

(i) completes the course of education or training to which paragraph (a) of that subsection refers, or

(ii) ceases to be engaged in the course of education or training concerned,

or

(b) the period is about to elapse,

the Director shall, or in the case of a cessation of engagement referred to in paragraph (a) (ii), may, where a period of detention remains to be served by the person, make a request under subsection (2) as soon as may be in respect of that person and in such case, reference in subsections (2) and (3) to ‘before the relevant date’ shall be construed as ‘as soon as may be’ and reference in subsections (2) and (4) to ‘on the relevant date’ shall be construed as a reference to the day after the date of authorisation by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs under subsection (3).

(7) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in any enactment, a child shall not be transferred from a children detention school to a place of detention provided under section 2 of the Act of 1970 or to a prison.

(8) In this section—

‘Director’ means the Director, within the meaning of section 180, of the children detention school in which a person referred to in subsection (1) is detained before the relevant date;

‘enactment’ has the same meaning as it has in the Interpretation Act 2005 .”.

(2) The amendments to section 155 of the Principal Act effected by this section shall not apply to persons detained on foot of a children detention order that was made before the commencement of this section and section 155 of the Principal Act shall apply to such persons as if subsection (1) had not been enacted.