The Department for Reformatory Schools of the new State Government of Victoria, established with federation in 1901, was responsible for convicted juveniles. The Children’s Welfare Act 1954 (No.5817) provided for the abolition of the Department for Reformatory Schools. Thereafter, responsibility for juvenile offenders and reformatory schools (from 1954 known as juvenile schools) was assumed by the Children’s Welfare Department.
The Department for Reformatory Schools came into being following the proclamation of the Juvenile Offenders’ Act in 1887. This Act assigned responsibility for convicted juveniles to the Department for Reformatory Schools, and it assigned responsibility for ‘neglected’ children to the Department for Neglected Children. Despite the separation of responsibilities brought about by the 1887 Juvenile Offenders’ Act, the Department for Reformatory Schools was administered by the Victorian government jointly with the Department for Neglected Children, which was renamed the Children’s Welfare Department in 1924. The Children’s Welfare Act 1954 (No.5817) provided for the abolition of the Department for Reformatory Schools. Thereafter, responsibility for juvenile offenders and reformatory schools (from 1954 known as juvenile schools) was assumed by the Children’s Welfare Department.