126 organisations call on Attorneys-General to #RaiseTheAge to 14

126 organisations call on Attorneys-General to #RaiseTheAge to 14

An open letter signed by 126 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, health, legal, community and human rights organisations today reiterated calls to Attorneys-General to stop jailing 10 year old kids and raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old, with no exception.

No child should grow up in prison in Australia. Last week, the Victorian Government disappointingly announced their intention to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12. Raising the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 with no exceptions is the absolute bare minimum to be in line with medical expert advice and international standards.

Evidence from brain development experts state that criminalising the actions of kids under 14 can cause serious long-term problems. But if provided with the care, support and treatment that they need, children can rehabilitate to live healthy and connected lives.

Locking up children behind bars does not work. Communities have the solutions to keep kids engaged and connected. Governments should stop funding new youth prisons and instead fund community-led solutions which keep the community safe and have better outcomes for children.

The calls by 126 organisations echo the support of 120,000+ people in Australia, as momentum grows across the country to raise the age of criminal responsibility in line with international UN standards.

State and territory Attorneys-General will meet on 28 April for the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG), marking five years since they first began investigating whether to raise the age of criminal responsibility. A report, which Attorneys-General delayed releasing for over two years, was finally made public last year and recommended raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 with no exceptions.

The report was prepared in 2020 with input from state, territory and Commonwealth justice departments and informed by over 80 public submissions made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, medical and legal experts, and human rights organisations which all called for the age to be raised to 14.

This Friday, Australia can finally stop playing politics with children. We call on Attorneys-General to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, with no exceptions.

Cheryl Axleby, Co-Chair, Change the Record: 

"If the Victorian government announces an increase to the age of criminal responsibility to 12, it will not make any real difference to the already high and unacceptable rates of Aboriginal youth overrepresentation in the legal system.  

“We advocate strongly that all state and territory governments commit to raising the age to 14, particularly as the Federal government has committed $81.5 million to justice reinvestment. There is now no excuse whatsoever why all state and territory governments do not now support Aboriginal led designed and delivery of culturally responsive diversionary programs to break the intergenerational cycle of incarceration for our younger generations."

Amala Ramarathinam, Acting Managing Lawyer, Human Rights Law Centre: 

“Children belong in playgrounds and schools, never in prisons and police cells. For years Attorneys-General across the country have been sitting on advice from their own departments that the age of criminal responsibility should be raised to at least 14.

"Every day that our chief law officers refuse to act on this straightforward reform, they are condemning a generation of children to the harm inherent in being locked away behind bars. The evidence is crystal clear, and it’s been sitting on their desks for five years. Governments across Australia must act now and raise the age to at least 14.”

Professor Steve Robson, President of the Australian Medical Assocation:

“The health advice is crystal clear – jail has terrible impacts on the health and wellbeing of children. It is not appropriate to hold children criminally responsible at this cognitive developmental stage. All children have a right to feel safe, secure and go to school – jail is not the place for this. The AMA calls upon all Attorney Generals to ensure that the minimum age of criminal responsibility is set at 14 years, with no exceptions.”

Background 

In February 2023, Daniel Andrews announced that Victoria was willing to lead the nation and raise the age sooner if state and territory governments failed to reach a national consensus. The Northern Territory has raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12. Tasmania has raised the age of youth detention to 14. The ACT announced they will introduce legislation to raise the age to 14 with limited exceptions.

Read the open letter signed by 126 organisations to the Attorneys-General