Council of Attorneys-General must commit to #RaiseTheAge to 14 and release secret government report

The national Raise the Age alliance is calling for Attorneys-General to release a secret government report and immediately enact its recommendation to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14.

The report was prepared in 2020 with input from state, territory and Commonwealth justice departments and informed by over 90 public submissions made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, medical and legal experts, and human rights organisations. 

The Standing Council of Attorneys-General will meet on Friday 9 December 2022. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC MP has stated that he has instructed his department to include the release of the report as an item for decision at this meeting. 

Repeated Freedom of Information requests have been made over the last two years to obtain a copy of the report, and now is the time for its long overdue release. 

Four Corners recently exposed again the horrific conditions that children are being subjected to in youth prisons. Four Corners also revealed that the secret report recommended raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 without exceptions, and this was supported by a majority of states and territories across Australia. 

Despite the clear recommendation from this report that 14 should be the minimum age of criminal responsibility, last week the Northern Territory Government raised the age to only 12. This falls below the internationally accepted standards, medical evidence on child development, and calls from the United Nations for Australia to raise the age to at least 14. 

The current low age of criminal responsibility disproportionately impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and is a key driver of contact with police and the legal system. Raising the age would reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in prisons and help governments meet their Closing The Gap targets.

Cheryl Axleby, Co-Chair Change the Record said:

“Our kids deserve to be supported in their homes and communities, and with the Aboriginal community-controlled, strengths-based services they need to grow up safe and thrive.

Governments must be brave enough to put the interests of Aboriginal people, our children and the safety of the whole community above law-and-order politics and raise the age to at least 14, no exceptions.”

Monique Hurley, Human Rights Law Centre said:

“Children belong in playgrounds and schools, never in prisons and police cells. For over two 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 over two years. Governments across Australia must act now and raise the age to at least 14.

Kacey Teerman, Amnesty International said: 

“We have seen countless times, governments in this country push back against raising the age. What more will it take - we’ve seen the footage of traumatised kids in cells for prolonged periods of time, we’ve heard the accounts from family whose babies have been in and out of the system since they were 10, and we’ve heard from young adults who have experienced the trauma of prison from a young age what they’ve been exposed to. Every Premier, Attorney-General and Chief Minister in this country has letters from us, reports, research and evidence that points to the alternatives to prison for children and yet again we’re in a position urging them to act. The United Nations body against torture has just released their 6th periodic review urging Australia to act in line with international standards- we must raise the age to at least 14 and keep our kids free from harm”

Dr Jacqueline Small, Paediatrician and President, Royal Australalasian College of Physicians said:

“14 years old is the absolute youngest age a child should be held criminally responsible. More must be done to ensure children are not incarcerated for behaviours that are a direct consequence of their young age, their disability or their earlier trauma, and provide these children with the care, support and treatment that they need and that preserves their dignity and human rights. Exposure to the criminal legal system has direct consequences on the education, development, mental and physical health, and adult incarceration rates, on these children.”

Terry Slevin, Public Health Association of Australia:

“Criminalising and incarcerating children at a very young age can be seriously destructive of the health of individuals for the rest of their lives. Evidence from child development indicates that criminalising the actions of kids under 14 can cause serious long-term problems. It’s time to stop damaging young lives and instead protect their long-term health.”

About the National Raise the Age Alliance:

The National Raise the Age Alliance is a coalition of over 115 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, legal, medical and human rights organisations calling for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to at least 14, without exceptions. 

Media Contact:
Thomas Feng, Media and Communications Manager, 0431 285 275, thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au