This guidance for youth offending teams, community panel members and the courts on referral orders for young offenders, provides updated information on new provisions on referral orders that came into force in April 2009.

It outlines how the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 gives more flexibility and allows wider use of referral orders through:

• a discretionary power to impose a referral order on young offenders convicted for the second time of an offence and who plead guilty, where they had not previously had a referral order;
• a power to extend or revoke a referral order by up to three months in the interests of justice;
• and a discretionary power to make a second referral order on the recommendation of a youth offending team in exceptional circumstances.

The guidance is available on the Ministry of Justice website.