Criminal Procedure Act 2011

General provisions - Conduct of proceeding - Special provisions applying to defendants under the age of 20 pending hearing or sentence

172: Defendants aged 16 must not be imprisoned pending hearing or sentence except in certain circumstances

You could also call this:

"16-year-olds usually can't go to prison before their court case, except in some serious situations."

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

If you are 16 years old but not yet 17, you cannot be sent to prison while waiting for your court hearing or sentence, unless certain conditions apply. This rule does not apply if you are already serving a sentence or term of imprisonment. If you are charged with a serious offence, such as a category 4 offence or a category 3 offence punishable by imprisonment for life or at least 14 years, the court may decide to detain you in a prison if it thinks this is the best option, considering all the circumstances, and section 15 of the Bail Act 2000 applies in your case.

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This page was last updated on 29 June 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3360300.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help

171: Defendants under 16 must not be imprisoned pending hearing or sentence, or

"Kids under 16 can't be sent to prison while waiting for a court hearing or sentence."

173: Remand of defendant under 17 in residence or care, or

"What happens if you're under 17 and in court: where you can stay while you wait for your hearing"

Part 5General provisions
Conduct of proceeding: Special provisions applying to defendants under the age of 20 pending hearing or sentence

172Defendants aged 16 must not be imprisoned pending hearing or sentence except in certain circumstances

Despite any other enactment, a person who has attained the age of 16 years but has not attained the age of 17 years must not be remanded to a prison pending any hearing in relation to any charge, or pending sentence, unless subsection (4) applies.
In this section a reference to a prison does not include a police jail.
If a person who has attained the age of 16 years but has not attained the age of 17 years is charged with or convicted of an offence in the District Court or the High Court, and the court remands the person for hearing or sentence, section 15 of the Bail Act 2000 applies.
Despite section 15(1) of the Bail Act 2000, the court may direct that a person who has attained the age of 16 years but has not attained the age of 17 years be detained in a prison if—
that person is charged with or convicted of—
1. a category 4 offence; or
2. a category 3 offence punishable by imprisonment for life or for at least 14 years; and
in the court's opinion no other course is desirable, having regard to all the circumstances.

Nothing in subsection (1) applies in respect of any person who is subject to a sentence or term of imprisonment.

Compare

1985 No 120 s 142(2), (2A), (3), (4), (4A), (6)

Notes

Section 172(3): amended, on 1 March 2017, by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).