From 16 December 2024, under Part 7D of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA), it is an offence for a prescribed adult to take any steps to require, recruit or encourage a child to

For the purposes of s 267AB, a prescribed adult is either a member of a criminal organisation aged 18 or older, or a person who is 21 years of age or older. A child is a person under the age of 18. 

A prescribed adult may be charged with and convicted of an offence against s 267AB regardless of whether the child they encouraged or recruited actually engaged in criminal conduct and regardless of whether the child is charged with criminal offending [s 267AB(2)].

The maximum penalty for an offence against s 267AB will depend on the major indictable offence the child was encouraged or recruited to commit. It will be either imprisonment for 15 years or the maximum penalty for the major indictable offence, if that is higher than 15 years [s 267AB(1)].