A year’s silence to #RaiseTheAge

It’s been one year to this day, on 27 July 2020, when the then Council of Attorneys-General were presented with a report from the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility Working Group’s public consultation, comprising submissions from 97 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, human rights, social services and other not-for-profit organisations, including the RACP. The report overwhelmingly recommended that the age of criminal responsibility be raised to at least 14. However it was not made public, and most of it was denied, including all submissions, following a Freedom of Information request. In May 2021, 48 organisations decided to publicly release their submissions.

Over the last year, 499 children aged between 10 and 13 have been imprisoned, 65 per cent of whom are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

We continue to advocate for raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years of age in line with medical evidence. We are calling for urgent change, after a year of inaction to raise the age of criminal responsibility. The Council of Attorneys-General have failed to respond to the evidence-based report presented to them 12 months ago, which calls for all states and territories to increase the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14.

How members can get involved and support #RaiseTheAge

Sign the petition

We are a member of the steering group for the national campaign to raise the age. RACP members can sign and share the national raise the age petition.

Get involved in social media

Share a photo of yourself at the age of 10 with the #RaiseTheAge hashtag on your social media platform of choice.