About The Campaign
Everyone knows that children do their best when they are supported, nurtured and loved. But right now across Australia, children as young as 10 can be arrested by police, charged with an offence, hauled before a court and locked away in a prison.
We know these laws are harming children at a critical time in their lives. When children are forced through a criminal legal process, at such a formative time in their development, they can suffer lifelong harm to their health, wellbeing and future.
The #RaiseTheAge campaign was born to change this. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, organisations and activists have been pushing for the age of criminal responsibility to be changed for decades, having seen first hand how locking away young children and removing them from their communities and families only does more damage.
In 2020 a coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and legal, medical and human rights groups came together to form a national campaign to push every single state, territory and federal government to change the laws so that children under 14 cannot be sent to prison. These organisations included the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, Change the Record, Human Rights Law Centre, Law Council of Australia, Amnesty International Australia, Australian Medical Association, Public Health Association of Australia and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. The campaign is now supported by over 100 organisations in every state and territory with new groups signing up every week.
Together, we have written thousands of letters and emails, lobbied politicians, built a powerful and diverse alliance, held press conferences, events and rallies, written op-eds, run social media actions and used every opportunity possible to speak out against this injustice across Australia.
Tens of thousands of people have joined the campaign too. Together we are making a huge difference. We have seen the ACT Government commit to raise the age, and there are promising signs in several other states. We will not stop until the federal government and every state and territory has changed the law raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14.
#RTA has been developed by
The Road Ahead
The solution is simple. No child belongs in prison. As a first step, all Australian governments must raise the minimum age at which a child can enter the criminal legal system from 10 to at least 14 years of age.
There is a growing chorus of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, expert United Nations bodies, human rights groups, medical and legal bodies, academics and individuals calling on Australia to raise the age.
We all have a role to play. We must keep the pressure on governments until they all have changed the law to prevent 10, 11, 12 and 13 year old children from being charged with an offence and locked up in prison.
Together, thousands of community members like you have worked together to put #RaiseTheAge on the national agenda, secure media coverage and educate the public about the shocking reality that children face when they are locked up in prison. We need to make sure the campaign stays in the public focus and cannot be ignored.
Now is the time for all of us to speak together and show that the support for raising the age continues to grow. There are lots of ways you can get involved- and take action.
Join The Campaign Alliance
The following organisations have joined the call to #RaiseTheAge the campaign:
Aboriginal Justice Caucus
AbSec
Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS)
ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS)
Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA)
Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT
Anglicare Australia
Anglicare Southern Queensland
Anglicare WA
ANTaR
Association for Children with a Disability
Australian Association of Social Workers
Australian Childhood Foundation
Australian Health Promotion Association
Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association
Australian Law Students' Association
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
Australian Red Cross
Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth (ARACY)
Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC)
Berry Street
Brotha Boy Youth Justice
Brotherhood of St Laurence
CareSouth
Caritas
Catholic Social Services Victoria
Central Australian Aboriginal Congress
Central Australian Youth Justice (CAYJ)
Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
Centre for Multicultural Youth
Children and Young People with Disability Australia
Children's Ground
Civil Liberties Australia
Community Legal Centres Australia
Community Restorative Centre
Connected Self
CREATE Foundation
Criminal Justice Reform WA
Deadly Connections
Federation of Community Legal Centres (Vic)
First Peoples Disability Network (FNDP)
For-Purpose Evaluations
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE)
Frontyard Youth Services
Illawarra Women's Health Centre
Jesuit Social Services
Just Reinvest NSW
Justice Connect
Justice Reform Initiative
Justice-involved Young People Network
knowmore
Koorie Youth Council
Liberty Victoria
Liberty Victoria's Rights Advocacy Project
Life Without Barriers
Mission Australia
Multicultural Australia
Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN)
Murdoch Children's Research Institute
National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners
National Justice Project
National Youth Commission Australia
New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties
NPY Women's Council
NT Legal Aid Commission
Northern Territory Council of Social Services (NTCOSS)
Orygen
Oxfam Australia
Partnership for Justice in Health
PeakCare Queensland
Phunktional Arts
Public Interest Advocacy Centre
Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS)
Queensland Advocacy Incorporated
Queensland Human Rights Commission
Reconciliation NSW
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS)
South Australian Network of Drug and Alcohol Services (SANDAS)
Save the Children
Settlement Services International
SHINE for Kids
Social Reinvestment WA
Social Ventures Australia
St John’s Youth Services
Street Smart Australia
The Centre for Innovative Justice
The Foundation for Young Australians
The Hello Initative
The Kimberley Foundation
The National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
The Salvation Army Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia Synod of Victoria and Tasmania
The Uniting Church of Australia Queensland Synod (Queensland Synod)
The Victorian Bar Inc.
The Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC)
The Youth Affairs Council of WA
Twenty10
UNICEF Australia
Uniting Church Vic Tas
UnitingCare Australia
Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO)
VACRO
Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency
Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS)
Victorian Legal Aid
VMIAC
WA Council of Social Service (WACOSS)
West Justice
Women's Justice Network
Women’s Legal Service Victoria
World Vision Australia
Yfoundations
Youth Action
Youth Advocacy Centre Inc.
Youth Affairs Council Victoria
Youthlaw
Youth Focus
Youth Law Australia