In a dramatic shift, the Northern Territory parliament has passed new laws lowering the age of criminal responsibility back down to just 10 years old, opening the door for young children to face significant jail time for crimes like ram raids. The controversial move, championed by the new Country Liberal government, comes just two years after the previous Labor administration raised the age to 12.
New Laws Reverse Protections for NT Children
Under the suite of changes to youth justice laws rammed through parliament, children as young as 10 could now be charged and imprisoned for up to 10 years for offenses like ram raiding properties. The government argues the measures are necessary to curb a youth crime wave that helped sweep them to power, while critics slam the reforms as a cruel step backwards for child welfare.
“Better Opportunities to Intervene Early”
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, who campaigned heavily on a “tough on crime” platform, defended the new laws as giving authorities more options to deal with troubled kids. “We know reverting to a system where it is the judge’s discretion around what to do with a 10 and 11-year-old creates much better opportunities for authorities to intervene early in their lives,” she argued in parliament.
In order to help you, we need to criminalize you first.
Chansey Peach, Former NT Attorney General
But former Attorney General Chansey Peach, who oversaw raising the age to 12 just two years ago, gave an impassioned plea against the reforms. “We’re talking about people who are deemed too vulnerable to be of an age to be on social media, they have no place in the criminal justice system,” he argued. “I feel sad for Territory children … Putting children into cells … that is child abuse.”
Pressure Builds Over Australia’s Low Age of Responsibility
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends 14 years as the minimum age of criminal responsibility, arguing that children’s brains are still developing and they have less capacity for reasoning, judgment and impulse control. But across Australia, the age is just 10, with growing calls for nationwide reform.
- ACT – Committed to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14
- Queensland, Victoria, South Australia – Reviewing raising the age
- NSW, WA, Tas – No current plans to raise the age
Pressure is building on states and territories to act, with the ACT committing to lift the age to 14 and others actively reviewing their laws. But with the NT’s stunning backflip and some jurisdictions holding out, the pace and consistency of reform across the nation remains uncertain.
Cycle of Disadvantage and Incarceration
Advocates argue that funneling young, vulnerable children into the criminal justice system only perpetuates cycles of disadvantage, trauma and repeat offending. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are massively over-represented in the system, with the age of criminal responsibility disproportionately impacting First Nations communities.
With the NT’s youth detention centers already under intense scrutiny for allegedly “appalling” and “inhumane” conditions, many fear lowering the age will only exacerbate a broken system and fail to address the underlying drivers of crime. As the controversy rages, all eyes will be on the real-world impact of the new laws on some of the Northern Territory’s most vulnerable children.
