Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has been accused of walking back a State Government commitment to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
This is the age at which a child can be charged with, or prosecuted for, an alleged crime.
A bill to raise the age from 10 is set to be debated in the Victorian Parliament’s Upper House this week.
Last year, former Premier Daniel Andrews announced plans to raise the age to 14 by 2027. However, Allan confirmed on Tuesday the bill will “raise the age to 12, and that is where it will stay.”
Background
The age of criminal responsibility in most parts of Australia is 10, except for in the NT and ACT, where it’s been raised to 12 years.
The ACT intends to increase the age to 14 next year.
In February 2023, then-Victorian Premier Dan Andrews announced plans to increase the age of criminal responsibility in his state from 10 to 14.
He said the age would initially be lifted to 12 in 2024, before being increased to 14 in 2027.
Victoria’s age of criminal responsibility
In June this year, the Victorian Government introduced legislation to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12.
However, the proposal does not include Andrews’ plan for a phased increase of the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
Under the draft laws, police can still charge children, but will be directed to issue warnings and cautions to divert young people from the courts.
Jacinta Allan’s comments
The Government said it considered “direct feedback” from police, youth justice workers and community support workers before tabling the legislation.
The Premier called it a “strong and decisive” path forward to strengthen the state’s response to youth crime. Allan said some young Victorians think “they can offend and re-offend and get away with it… Actions must have consequences.”
Labor doesn’t hold a majority in the Upper House, meaning it will need support from the Opposition or crossbenchers to pass the bill.
Opposition
When the bill was introduced, Victoria’s Coalition Opposition said it would “carefully consider” the proposal.
However, it has indicated if it will support Labor’s draft law.
The Shadow Youth Justice Minister Brad Battin said discussions should be centred around youth crime prevention and intervention methods to stop children “from re-entering the justice system”.
“Allowing young people to commit crime with no consequences isn’t the answer… Engage early, provide services and support,” Battin said.
Police response
Victoria Police has opposed plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility but welcomed news the age won’t be lifted to 14.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said officers had held “concerns about the significant levels of offending” by 12-to-14-year-olds in the state.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Patton said police would be “able to manage” the increased age of responsibility from 10 to 12, noting 10 and 11-year-olds were responsible for few “serious offences”.
Community comments
The Government consulted several bodies on the bill, including the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS).
VALS criticised the “regressive” decision not to increase the age of criminal responsibility to 14 as “weak leadership”.
It accused the Government of being influenced by media reporting on crime data, which it described as a “scare campaign”.
VALS CEO Nerita Waight said the organisation has “been betrayed” by the Government’s decision.
