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Law Society welcomes ACT decision to raise criminal age of responsibility
The ACT has become the first Australian jurisdiction to vote to raise the age of criminal responsibility, bringing its laws in line with the United Nations standards.
Naomi Neilson
The vote before the Legislative Assembly is the first tentative step towards raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years, but the ultimate responsibility to alter the laws will be with whichever party forms government after the October elections.
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The ACT Law Society has welcomed the vote and said it is “cautiously optimistic” that the laws will come to fruition: “The proposal brings us one step closer to much-overdue reform. We should be treating children like children, not criminals.”
The Legislative Assembly motion said in amending any legislation, consideration could also be given to medical evidence on cognitive capacity of children over 14, and there should be options to shift the age or provide exemptions for serious offences.
“The Law Society welcomes Attorney-General [Gordon] Ramsay’s public support of a reform and for identifying a clear way forward. We are pleased to see the ACT taking a leadership role in this very necessary change,” president Chris Donohue said.
“However, there is a need for action on this reform to be taken more quickly. The Law Society and our specialist legal committee stand ready to assist the ACT government.”
The United Nations committee on the rights of the child recommended age of criminal responsibility should be at 14. The ACT Parliament agreed that “there is desirability of national consensus on minimum age of criminal responsibility, but it does not prevent a jurisdiction from making an independent decision to raise the age.”
