Enhanced Bail Supervision and Support – procedure

bail, supervision, 1620
1620
The Enhanced Bail Supervision and Support Trial (EBSS) (including Electronic Monitoring) will run for 2 years in metropolitan Melbourne only, commencing on 22 April 2025. The EBSS will provide intensive bail supervision and supports alongside electronic monitoring. The Department of Justice and Community Services is conducting the trial.

Document ID number 1620, version 1, 16 April 2025
Introduction

Follow this procedure when you are the allocated practitioner for a young person who is being considered for Enhanced Bail Supervision and Support (EBSS).

For additional information see Enhanced Bail Supervision and Support – advice

Note: If you were the allocated practitioner for a young person whose case was closed within the past month where the young person is being considered for EBSS, 

information sharing obligations will apply. For all other inquiries, Youth Justice should contact the Information Sharing Team via info.exchange@dffh.vic.gov.au for relevant information about the young person.

Procedure

Case practitioner tasks

  • Advise your supervisor that you are or were the allocated practitioner for a young person being assessed for EBSS suitability by Youth Justice.

  • Provide support to the young person to understand the order and their rights to raise concerns if needed as per existing court and case planning processes

  • If requested, provide the youth justice case manager with a copy of the young person’s endorsed case plan, and any other relevant plans (e.g. cultural plans), ensuring that information sharing and privacy obligations are maintained. 

  • Provide contact details of allocated practitioners including the Aboriginal Children in Aboriginal Care (ACAC) provider or Child Protection contact points for Youth Justice regarding the young person. 

  • Where the young person is living in out-of-home care including residential care, advise the community service organisation that the young person is being assessed for EBSS and that access to the home is required to enable Youth Justice to assess the suitability of the home environment for EBSS.

  • Where case management for the young person is contracted to a community service organisation or Aboriginal-Controlled Community Organisation, advise the contracted case manager as soon as possible.

  • Attend care team meetings and work with Youth Justice to determine roles and responsibilities.

  • Engage with Youth Justice to inform the EBSS assessment, including assisting to arrange the home assessment if the young person is in out-of-home care. 

  • Engage with Youth Justice to inform the Bail Plan and the Engagement and Compliance Plan, including strategies to support the young person and to respond to any identified or emerging risks.

  • Record a standalone case note in CRIS with a clear subject line to alert practitioners the young person has been assessed and is subject to the EBSS including: 

  • if electronic monitoring is occurring and record actions relevant to the young person’s bail conditions, such as any breaches and this has been communicated to the Youth Justice case manager.

  • If a young person is subject to electronic monitoring, ensure that an Afterhours Possible Contact is created, noting the bail conditions and any plans developed with Youth Justice regarding responses to electronic monitoring alerts.

  • If a young person is subject to electronic monitoring, ensure that the Behaviour Support Plan, case plans and any other relevant plans are updated to reflect electronic monitoring requirements. For example, ensure the Behaviour Support Plan notes responses to support electronic monitoring requirements and strategies to address the offending behaviour.

Supervisor tasks

  • Provide ongoing supervision and support to the child protection practitioner.

  • Advise team manager about the suitability assessment for EBSS or conditions of a young person’s EBSS bail.

Team manager / practice leader tasks

  • Provide support to staff regarding EBSS processes.