Age of criminal responsibility

Read the paper Age of criminal responsibility

There has been much debate about the appropriate minimum age for criminal responsibility in recent years. It has been the subject of in depth consideration by the former Council of Attorneys-General, with the Meeting of Attorneys-General agreeing in November 2021 to support the development of a proposal to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12. The ACT Government has committed to raising the age of criminal responsibility in that jurisdiction from 10 to 14 years. In NSW, David Shoebridge MLC introduced the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Amendment (Age of Criminal Responsibility) Bill 2021 on 11 November 2021. This private member's bill seeks to raise the age of criminal responsibility in NSW to 14, in addition to providing that children under the age of 16 are not to be detained or imprisoned.

This paper provides an overview of the current law in NSW and includes data on 10- to 14-year-olds who come into contact with the criminal justice system. It refers to recent inquiries, parliamentary and otherwise, that have considered the age at which criminal responsibility should apply. It discusses issues to be considered and approaches that may be adopted should NSW pursue reform in this area.

Talina Drabsch
Parliamentary Research Service
e-brief 1, 2022

Published: 25 March 2022