Victoria is to become the first State in Australia to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility in a suite of reforms to keep young people out of the criminal justice system.
Announcing the move, Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said the minimum age of criminal responsibility would be raised from 10 to 12 years old, and then to 14 years old by 2027.
“Medical evidence indicates very young children are at a critical stage of cognitive development and may be incapable of understanding their behaviour is seriously wrong,” Ms Symes said.
“Therefore, they are unable to form criminal intent as defined by law,” she said.
“As part of the reforms, the Government will also codify and strengthen the existing legal presumption known as doli incapax, which states a child under 14 cannot be held criminally responsible unless they knew their actions were seriously wrong, to ensure it is better understood and applied consistently in the courts.”
Ms Symes said the first stage of reforms would see support services used to help 10- and 11-year-olds and their families address the causes of problematic behaviours and prevent future contact with the criminal justice system, “any change will ensure that victims impacted by these behaviours continue to be able to access support”.
She said the outreach and diversionary programs already run by Victoria Police would continue, with the Government to work with police to determine appropriate responses to the very rare instances where 10- and 11-year-olds engaged in serious offending.
“Once this first step of raising the age to 12 has been implemented, the Government will further raise the minimum age of responsibility to 14 years old by 2027 – with exceptions for certain serious crimes,” the Attorney-General said.
“Further work on what these exceptions are will be undertaken.”
Ms Symes said the second stage of reform would be subject to the design and implementation of an alternate service model developed to cater for the 12- and 13-year-old cohort in consultation with an Independent Review Panel, “making sure a safety net remains within our youth justice system to protect both at-risk children and the broader community.”
