The paper reviews when and why the Youth Court was founded in Australia, changes in the Youth Court in the past 30 years and the relationship between informal and formal justice. It focuses on the court's role in adjudicating and sentencing criminal matters, not on other decision making areas such as guardianship. Developments influential in changing the court's character have included critique of the welfare model, reconceptualization of the child and informalism. The paper suggests that conferencing, rather than being a diversion from court, should be part of a court disposition. It also calls for discussion about the potential for conferencing (and informal processes generally) to become a larger part of formal justice. It will be crucial that the "guardians of formal legal order" (i.e., lawyers, judges and magistrates) do not view informal legal processes as a threat to the legal profession or to their own or their clients' interests. The report includes extensive biographical data and curriculum vitae for the author. Notes, references