The Liberal National Party has promised to deter youth offenders from a life of crime by opening dedicated deterrence schools despite the party's "adult time for adult crime" policy.
But the Miles government said the early intervention initiative is already in place and is at risk of cuts if the opposition is elected.
Queensland's opposition will open two "youth justice" schools if it wins the October 26 election, costing taxpayers $40 million.
The specialist schools would work exclusively with high-risk teen offenders on community service orders, police cautions, or bail to minimise the risk of reoffending and steer the kids away from a life of crime.
"These children need discipline, support, education, and structure, which is exactly what the LNP will provide through the youth justice schools," Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said on Monday.
It follows the LNP's hardline stance on youth crime, with the party committing to an "adult time for adult crime" policy to implement harsher sentences on kids for serious offences.
The schools would offer supervision for more than 12 hours a day, five days a week with a curriculum focusing on crime diversion.
They would also offer individual dedicated case management, one-on-one mentoring, family support and parental coaching.
Not-for-profit organisation Ohana for Youth, which already has two facilities to reconnect teenagers with education and employment, would run the schools.
If the pilot is successful, the LNP will open up the program to additional operators for more schools across the state.
"Currently, Queensland has no dedicated youth justice education facilities, where kids can get the support they need before they become hardened by repeat criminal activity," youth justice spokesperson Laura Gerber said.
But Premier Steven Miles said his government has already introduced 50 flexible learning facilities offering deterrence education with another 25 on the way.
"By the LNP announcing that they'll only build two, you've got to assume that means they intend to cut 23 of the 25 that we've already announced," he said.
Mr Miles said early intervention is key in cracking down on repeat youth criminal offending.
"You look at a serious repeat offender and think we should have intervened when they started offending ... that's what these schools are all about," he said.
Youth crime is touted as one of the key election battlegrounds for both parties with Australian Bureau of Statistics data showing Queensland's young offender population increased six per cent to 10,878 last year.
The average daily number of serious repeat youth offenders has risen from 278 in 2018-2019 to 457 in 2022-23.
The LNP is tracking ahead in the polls to win the election in just over a month, looking to overturn Labor's three terms in government.