Justice Reform Office
The Justice Reform Office (JRO) is a new, permanent office tasked with leading reform of Queensland’s criminal justice system.
The JRO replaced and expanded the Criminal Justice Innovation Office (CJIO) in October 2023 and will build on valuable reform work already completed by the CJIO.
What we do
The JRO develops, tests and implements initiatives to reform the criminal justice system.
Our work is based on evidence and focuses on new approaches to:
- reduce demand on courts and prisons
- modernise Queensland’s laws
- improve programs to divert people away from the criminal justice system
- help people to break the cycle of reoffending.
We also provide support to the Independent Ministerial Advisory Council, a new body that will provide advice to Ministers on criminal justice issues.
Our priorities
Our current priorities include:
- developing a ‘justice impact test’ to work out the impact a proposed new law or policy would have across the criminal justice system
- considering how bail can be improved to reduce the number of adults and children spending time in prison or in detention on remand
- exploring new ways to address offending behaviour of young people aged 16 to 25 years
- exploring how we can better support women and girls in the criminal justice system and prevent them from reoffending
- looking at alternative ways to support people who are drug affected, including implementing expanded drug diversion programs
- assessing current criminal offences to see if they are still appropriate and determining what impacts may result if these offences were changed or removed
- reviewing community-based sentencing options including the use of parole to reduce demand on prisons and detention centres
- exploring options to expand adult restorative justice services as an alternative sentencing option.
Who we work with
The JRO acts as a centralised office partnering with external agencies to deliver innovative criminal justice reform. Partnering organisations include:
- Department of Housing
- Department of Justice and Attorney-General
- Department of Premier and Cabinet
- Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts
- Department of Youth Justice, Employment, Small Business and Training
- First Nations Justice Office
- Queensland Corrective Services
- Queensland Health
- Queensland Police Service
- Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council
- Queensland Treasury.
Community engagement
The JRO plans to engage with the community to provide opportunities to contribute to the reforms.
Find out more about the work we’re doing to help reform the criminal justice system by visiting the Let’s Talk Justice—Justice Reform Office Hub, our engagement platform where we invite the community to join the conversation and have your say on how to improve the criminal justice system.
Contact us
If you would like to get in touch with the JRO you can email jro@justice.qld.gov.au. You can also follow JRO updates on social media.