The first part of this address by the Commonwealth's Minister responsible for the Australian Federal Police and Federal sentencing summarizes the Commonwealth's efforts to divert juvenile offenders from formal juvenile justice processing and particularly from institutionalization. These efforts include 1982 amendments to the Commonwealth Crimes Act that restrict judges' use of imprisonment as a sentencing option. The next section reviews Australia's programs designed to reduce child abuse as a factor in the cultivation of aggression and violence in those abused. Efforts include parenting-skills programs in every State and the development of youth services for young victims of violence. The section on juvenile delinquency prevention programs summarizes a number of model programs. They include a community support scheme, family support and mentors for youth involved in the inhaling of solvents, work skills training, and the use of informal community conferences to resolve conflicts between youth and their victims. The assessment of Western Australia's juvenile justice legislation focuses on the ways it apparently violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. 6 references