Community work orders for young people

Community work is unpaid work that benefits the community and aims to repair the harm that has been caused.

Types of community work include:

• assisting charity stores or food banks
• helping in aged care or Aboriginal and youth community centres
• assisting with outdoor projects such as:
  • removing graffiti
  • collecting rubbish
  • landscaping.

Businesses and organisations can nominate any work that may be suitable for a young person.

Read below to find out more if you are a business or organisation.

The young person is responsible for their participation in a project and rehabilitation for a certain amount of hours.

The Youth Justice Court decides the type of community work and number of hours.

A community youth justice officer or youth outreach and re-engagement officer from Territory Families will:

• support the young person to comply with their order
• document their attendance.

You can apply to have your project considered as community work if you are a Northern Territory (NT) business or organisation.

This includes:

• charities, not-for-profit organisations or community groups
• local government bodies
• institutions for the socially disadvantaged or people with a disability
• private enterprises or business owners.

Before you apply

Before you apply, you must be able to meet or demonstrate the following criteria:

• The work:
  • will benefit the community
  • is restorative in nature and/ or
  • provides a meaningful pathway for the young person
  • will not directly or indirectly provide any personal or financial benefit to Territory Families staff
  • will not be demeaning or degrading
• A site supervisor will be present the entire time the young person is attending. The supervisor must:
  • monitor the work performance of the young person and
  • complete documentation such as attendance sheets and incident reports
  • maintain a safe working environment under the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011
• Direct supervisors of young people must have a current Working with Children Clearance/ Ochre Card
• You must have current public liability insurance.

You must:

• present your Ochre Card to Territory Families on request
• supply a copy of your public liability insurance.

How to apply

To apply or for more information, contact your nearest Territory Families Youth Outreach and Re-engagement office.

Alice Springs

08 8951 5867
tf.youthoutreachalicesprings@nt.gov.au

Darwin

08 8946 5120
tf.youthoutreachdarwin@nt.gov.au

Nhulunbuy

08 8987 0464
tf.youthoutreachnhulunbuy@nt.gov.au

Katherine

08 8973 8605
tf.youthoutreachkatherine@nt.gov.au