When is a child fully responsible for their actions? Victoria raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12, raising questions around whether children can be held fully accountable for their actions at such a young age, and whether the criminal justice system needs a reset, to focus on rehabilitation over punishment. By Andrew Hamilton
The state government has confirmed it will initially raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12, before eventually moving to raise it to 14.
Victoria will raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to a 12 but advocates saying a raise to age 14 is urgently needed to improve outcomes for children.
When the Northern Territory raised the age of criminal responsibility last year to 12, the government said the legislation wouldn't begin operationally until "the second half of 2023". But advocates say young children are still being jailed.