(VIC) Increase the Age of Criminal Responsibility to 14

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Author:  Leo Miles & Krish Jayaprabhakaran | Publish date: 21/1/2026

• P: In VIC, children as young as 12 can be incarcerated. 

• S: The Minister for Youth Justice should amend Section 10 of the Youth Justice Act 2024 (VIC) to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 14 years. 

  
  

Problem Identification: 

Sections 11(1) and 11(2) of the Youth Justice Act 2024 (VIC) establish that criminal liability can apply from the age of 12.

According to Criminal Defence Lawyers Australia, this means that children as young as 12 can be held criminally responsible and incarcerated if the ‘prosecution [can rebut the assumption of doli incapax] when pursuing criminal charges against someone of these ages.’ The Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee noted in its 2025 findings on youth detention that the justice system does not adequately account for the developmental needs of children under 14. The National Children's Commissioner further highlighted that early contact with the justice system can place children in environments that may intensify existing trauma and increase reoffending.

Context: 

The minimum age of criminal responsibility refers to the youngest age at which a child can be held legally accountable for an offence under criminal law. Doli incapax refers to the assumption that children under 14 are incapable of forming criminal intent unless proven otherwise. 

In VIC, between 2011 and 2021, 2,949 cases involving offenders aged 10-13 resulted in charges and sentences or were diverted by police and courts. Among major reporting bodies, there appears to be no clear data on the incarceration rates of children aged 10-13 after 2021. 

Furthermore, data from the Sentencing Advisory Council has indicated that Aboriginal children and children from rural/regional areas are disproportionately represented among younger children involved in the justice system.

Arguments:

According to the Clinical Psychology Review, early incarceration can significantly psychologically harm children. The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency highlighted testimony from a child under 14 who described feeling ‘different after it’ and ‘like they were trying to break [me] down’ following time in isolation. Senior researchers at the University of North Carolina reported that juvenile justice involvement during this neurodevelopmental stage can disrupt adolescent neural pathways responsible for self-regulation and increase vulnerability to further offending. An article published by the University of Wollongong, moreover, highlighted that ‘pre-existing mental health problems are likely exacerbated by experiences during incarceration’. The article also indicated that this is linked to long-term impacts such as ‘poor emotional development, poor education outcomes, and worse mental health’.

Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) stated that ‘children under the age of 14 do not have the maturity to be held criminally responsible for their actions … because their capacity for [cognitive] reasoning is still developing.’ The Senate Committee stated that ‘maturity and the capacity for abstract reasoning [are] still evolving in children aged 12 to 13 years [because] their frontal cortex is still developing.’ The Australian Medical Association and the Law Council of Australia (LCA) highlighted that ‘immaturity can affect … “impulsivity, reasoning and consequential thinking”’, favouring ‘a higher [minimum age of criminal responsibility]’.

LCA highlighted that ‘these harsh policies do not make our communities safer – especially in the long run.’ Dr Zachary Rowan, an associate criminology professor at Simon Fraser University, found that ‘formally processed youth acquire more new deviant peers and fewer nondeviant peers’ in the 3 years after their first justice contact. Amnesty International found that 94% of children imprisoned at age 10-12 receive another prison sentence before adulthood. LCA highlighted that the institutionalisation of children has been ‘comprehensively debunked as [an] effective community safety [solution].’ 

The James Cook University Law Review highlighted that diversion programs are more effective than incarceration in reducing youth detention and recidivism. Justice Victoria stated that ‘[y]outh diversion can reduce crime, is cost effective and creates better outcomes for young people and the community.’ The Children's Court Youth Diversion program in VIC showcased that ‘many young people had maintained [their] positive [attitude and behaviour] changes after completing their diversion order.’ Associate Professor Leigh Haysom reported that senior police were ‘very clear in saying that if there were accessible non-justice options available for these kids, they would use these as a first option’, and indicated that diversion programs would be preferred.

Advice/Solution Identification:

The LCA, Amnesty International, and VLA have called for raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14. Amnesty International stated that this reform could ensure that children under 14 are not subject to criminal prosecution and could reduce the harms associated with early justice involvement, including reoffending.

Precedent:

There is both international and domestic precedent for raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14. Internationally, Austria, Italy, and Germany, and domestically, the ACT, have all set their minimum ages of criminal responsibility to 14.

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Public Support: 

1. Just Reinvest NSW

2. Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP)

3. 126+ organisations via #RaiseTheAge 

4. Dr Leigh Haysom

News Coverage:

• ABC News - “A report on child protection failures in Victoria highlighted the case of a 12-year-old girl charged with murder”. The investigation examined child protection system failures in a case involving a child under 14, with charges later withdrawn. By: Nicole Asher | 31 October 2024 - Read the article here.

• ABC News - “Victorian government abandons promise to raise criminal age to 14 amid youth justice reforms”. The article reported on the decision not to proceed with raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility alongside better youth justice reforms. No author listed | 13 August 2024 - Read the article here.

• NIT - “Raising the age but tightening bail: Victoria’s contradictory youth justice path remains”. The article examined concerns raised by Aboriginal and human rights organisations regarding the direction of youth justice reform in Victoria. By: Dechlan Brennan | 1 October 2025 - Read the article here.

• SBS News - “‘We have been betrayed’: Advocates devastated as Victoria backflips on youth justice reforms”. This article reported on responses from advocacy groups following the decision not to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14. By: Rudi Maxwell | 13 August 2024 - Read the article here.

Where to go to learn more: 

1. (2026) Raise The Age - This campaign advocates for raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility by collating over 100 organisations that call for increasing the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14. View the overview here.

2. (2024) Law Council of Australia - This submission to the Senate committee examined the effects of each of the different state jurisdictions’ youth justice systems (Section A), and highlighted the overrepresentation of First Nations children in the justice system (Section B). It also illustrated the compliance levels of each state and territory to the human rights of children (Section C), as well as the Commonwealth's international obligations (Section D). View the full submission here.

3. (2025) Sentencing Advisory Council (Victoria) - The report examined cases diverted in VIC involving offences committed by children aged 10 to 13 at the time of their offending, including demographics, offending profiles, and sentencing outcomes, and aimed to analyse how the new legislature would affect the now youngest age groups (12-13 year olds) that can be charged. View the report here.

4. (2024) Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - The statement provided an overview of the current age of criminal responsibility across Australian jurisdictions, and Australia's obligations in relation to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s updated recommendation. Read their statement here.

5. (2020) Australian Human Rights Commission - This submission outlined how the minimum age of criminal responsibility operates in Australia, summarised evidence on child development, and urged all Australian governments to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14. View the report here.

6. Youth Justice Act 2024 (VIC) - Read the full Act here.

Human Perspective: 

Trigger Warning: Youth justice involvement, family loss

Liam is 13 and lives with his grandmother in a regional VIC town, where his school attendance has been patchy since his mum passed away two years ago. Over the past year, he’s been picked up by the police a few times for low-level offences like shoplifting and damaging property, mostly linked to acting out while his grandmother is at work. Each time, he admitted what he did and was given a caution. After the third time, though, the police decided to refer him to court. From there, everything shifted. He missed classes for hearings, was placed on strict bail conditions, and began to withdraw from the youth support program he’d just started attending. He eventually spent a short period in youth detention. His little sister, who already struggles with anxiety, started having trouble sleeping at night, worried he wouldn’t come home. For Liam, what began as a series of minor offences quickly escalated into deeper justice system involvement. At 13, Liam found the escalating system involvement confusing and difficult to navigate. He did not fully understand the consequences of breaching bail and missing school, and often felt scared and unsure of what was expected of him. For him, these processes felt sudden and overwhelming, and his reactions were shaped more by stress and grief than by an intention to offend.

To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.

Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement: 

References to a conversation with Dr Haysom are from a conversation between the authors and Dr Haysom on the 26th of November 2025, shared with her permission.

Support 

If your organisation would like to add your support to this paper or suggest amendments, please email Info@foreaustralia.com. 

Reference list: 

ACT Justice and Community Safety Directorate. (2025, September 1). Raising the age of criminal responsibility. https://www.act.gov.au/law-and-justice/law-reforms/raising-the-age-of-criminal-responsibility 

Amnesty International Australia. (2022, January 25). Explainer: Why we need to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility. https://www.amnesty.org.au/why-we-need-to-raise-the-minimum-age-of-criminal-responsibility/ 

Australian Human Rights Commission. (2019, October). UN calls for national action to protect the rights of children and young people in Australia [Press release]. https://humanrights.gov.au/about-us/media-centre/search-listing-media-releases/media-releases/un-calls-national-action-protect-rights-children-and-young-people 

Australian Human Rights Commission. (2021, April). Governments must prioritise raising the age [Press release]. https://humanrights.gov.au/about-us/media-centre/search-listing-media-releases/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/governments-must-prioritise-raising-age

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2013, July 25). Young people aged 10-14 in the youth justice system 2011-12: Summary. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/youth-justice/young-people-aged-10-14-in-the-youth-justice-syste/contents/summary 

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024, December 13). Youth detention population in Australia 2024: Raising the age of criminal responsibility. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/youth-justice/youth-detention-population-in-australia-2024/contents/understanding-youth-detention-in-australia/raising-the-age-of-criminal-responsibility 

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2025, September 4). Young people returning to sentenced youth justice supervision 2023–24. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/youth-justice/young-people-returning-to-youth-justice-2023-24/contents/about 

Australian Law Reform Commission. (2010). Seen and heard: Priority for children in the legal process (ALRC Report 84). https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/seen-and-heard-priority-for-children-in-the-legal-process-alrc-report-84/18-childrens-involvement-in-criminal-justice-processes/in-court/ 

Australian Medical Association, & Law Council of Australia. (2019). Policy statement on minimum age of criminal responsibility. https://lawcouncil.au/publicassets/20fb2a76-c61f-ea11-9403-005056be13b5/AMA%20and%20LCA%20Policy%20Statement%20on%20Minimum%20Age%20of%20Criminal%20Responsibility.pdf 

Chaplo, S., & Fishbein, D. (2021). Capitalizing on neuroplasticity across development to redirect pathways from juvenile justice involvement. In S. L. Anderson (Ed.), Sensitive periods of brain development and preventive interventions (pp. 235–254). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2021_251 

Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria. (2020). Youth justice strategic plan 2020-2030 - Delivering age-appropriate responses for 10 to 14 year olds. https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/youth-justice-strategic-plan-2020-2030-delivering-age-appropriate-responses-for-10-to-14-year-olds 

Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. (2016). Legal age thresholds regarding the transition from child- to adulthood. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD Family Database. Retrieved November 28, 2025, from https://webfs.oecd.org/els-com/Family_Database/PF_1_8_Age_threshold_Childhood_to_Adulthood.pdf 

Haysom, L. (2022). Raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 years. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 58(9), 1504–1507. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.16059 

Haysom, L. (personal communication, November 26, 2025)

Human Rights Law Centre. (2023, March 1). Campaign to raise the age. https://www.hrlc.org.au/projects/raise-the-age/ 

Human Rights Law Centre. (2025, July 1). ACT becomes first jurisdiction to raise the age to 14 while the rest of the country lags behind [Press release]. https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/act-becomes-first-jurisdiction-to-raise-the-age-to-14-while-the-rest-of-the-country-lags-behind/ 

Johnson, S. B., Blum, R. W., & Giedd, J. N. (2009). Adolescent maturity and the brain: The promise and pitfalls of neuroscience research in adolescent health policy. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45(3), 216–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.05.016 

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Law Council of Australia. (2024). Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system [Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee]. https://lawcouncil.au/publicassets/d2f05c83-b895-ef11-94ab-005056be13b5/4609%20-%20S%20-%20Australias%20youth%20justice%20and%20incarceration%20system.pdf 

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Rowan, Z. R., Fine, A., Steinberg, L., Frick, P. J., & Cauffman, E. (2023). Labeling effects of initial juvenile justice system processing decision on youth interpersonal ties*. Criminology, 61(4), 731–757. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12348 

Royal Australasian College of Physicians. (2021, November 16). Twelve is still too young: RACP urges Attorneys-General to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years in line with expert health advice [Press release]. https://www.racp.edu.au/news-and-events/media-releases/twelve-is-still-too-young-racp-urges-attorneys-general-to-raise-the-age-of-criminal-responsibility-to-14-years-in-line-with-expert-health-advice 

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