ACT chooses 'care over cruelty' by raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14
From July 1, children under 14 in the ACT can no longer be charged, prosecuted, or imprisoned under the criminal legal system, except for a limited number of excluded offences.
The change comes as part of a two-stage reform passed in 2023, which first raised the age from 10 to 12 and now to 14. The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) welcomed the milestone, commending the ACT Government for a decision grounded in research and community wellbeing. 'This reform will keep more children where they belong: in their homes, communities, schools, playgrounds and sports fields, supported to thrive rather than being dragged through court and languishing in youth prisons,' ALS chief executive Karly Warner said. 'Evidence shows the younger a child is at first contact with the legal system, the more likely they are to keep coming back into contact with police and courts and to experience adult imprisonment.
"That's why raising the age of legal responsibility to 14 is a commonsense move not only for children but for all members of our communities.'
While praising the ACT's leadership, Ms Warner urged further reform, calling for the removal of exceptions that still allow children to be criminalised under certain circumstances.
The change follows decades of sustained advocacy from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, health professionals and legal experts, who have long highlighted the harms of early criminalisation, particularly for Indigenous children, who remain disproportionately affected by the system.
A call for national action Advocacy organisations, including Change the Record, the Justice and Equity Centre and the Human Rights Law Centre, also welcomed the reform, and called on all other jurisdictions to follow suit without delay. 'Every child deserves to grow with connection, not be locked up in prison cells,' Jade Lane, Change the Record chief executive, said.
'The ACT reforms are a crucial step toward choosing care over cruelty, especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, who are disproportionately targeted by police and the so-called justice system.'
Ms Lane urged other jurisdictions to end harmful, punitive youth justice practices and invest instead in community-led solutions that support young people. 'This change in the ACT signals a well-overdue time to invest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to thrive, not trap them in cycles of criminalisation,' she said. Maggie Munn, First Nations director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the reform sets a precedent for the rest of the nation. 'Our kids deserve to thrive, not be caged in police watch houses and prison cells. This is a positive step forward which means that more children in the ACT will be cared for, rather than pipelined into prison,' Munn said.
'We call on every state and territory government to do the right thing for kids and communities, and raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, with no exceptions.'
Chief executive of the Justice and Equity Centre Jonathon Hunyor told NITV that locking up children cruels their chances and takes them away from positive influences. "What we do is place kids in a situation where they build criminal capital – they go to the university of crime," he said. "They get taught that they're criminals and told that they're criminals – and that's exactly what we produce. "So it's very easy to talk tough and be all hairy-chested about being tough on crime, but the fact is, it's not working, it's never worked, and it's never going to work.
"Unless we actually invest in kids, we invest in communities, we invest in solutions, we're just saying the same stuff over and over again."
Australia still lagging behind international standards Despite the ACT's progress, Australia remains out of step with international human rights obligations. The United Nations has repeatedly called on Australia to raise the minimum age to 14 'without exception,' citing evidence that children aged 10 to 13 lack the developmental capacity to be held criminally responsible. Mr Hunyor said that raising the age is a catalyst for changing systems, taking the emphasis from criminalisation, from police and prisons, to where it can make a difference. "And that's intervening early, supporting children and families from a much younger age than even 10 so that problems that lead them to commit criminal offences don't materialise or, if they do, that kids can get back on the right track," he said. "So it's all the obvious stuff that we should be investing in community services, after school activities, mentoring for young people, mental health support and there's support for families. "We address things like homelessness and a lack of housing, disability supports that we need in our communities
"They're all the things that we know are going to make a difference."
Communities had a right to be angry that government is not investing in them and not investing in people's capacity to do better, Mr Hunyor said. "Instead, we park at the bottom of the cliff, we wait for kids to fall off, we chuck them in the paddy wagon, and we drive them back up and let them out again, and the whole cycle starts again," he said. "It's just a ridiculous approach that we're taking. "And until more people look at the evidence like they are in the ACT, we're not going to get better outcomes."
In NSW, Queensland, and South Australia, the age of criminal responsibility remains at 10.
The former Northern Territory Labor government raised the age to 12 but when the Country Liberal Party swept to power in August last year, one of the first act's of Lia Finocchiaro's new government was to lower it back to 10. Victoria has also kept the age at 10, and while that state has passed legislation to raise it to 12; the change has not yet been implemented and also includes new police powers targeting children as young as 10 and breaks a promise from former Premier Dan Andrews to raise the age to 14 by 2027. Tasmania has committed to raising the age to 14 by 2029, while in Western Australia, the government has voted to raise the age to 14, but implementation is still pending. 'Kids deserve a childhood free from cages and isolation,' Ms Lane said.
'It's time the rest of the country caught up.'
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