Commonwealth, states and territories must lift minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14yrs (FED)

26/06/2019

The Law Council of Australia have today issued a Media Release stating every Australian jurisdiction should lift the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 years to improve justice outcomes for vulnerable children and remove the need for the fraught doli incapax presumption.

Law Council Directors from around Australia unanimously resolved in Darwin at the weekend to change the Law Council’s policy, which previously called for the minimum age of criminal responsibility to be raised to "at least 12-years-old". "The current minimum age of criminal responsibility in all states and territories, and under federal law, is 10 years of age. This is far too low," Law Council of Australia President, Arthur Moses SC, said today.

A full copy of the media release is available here.