 "The Northern Territory in Australia has passed new laws that lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10, two years after the previous government raised the age to 12. Representational Image/iStock")
The parliament in Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) have passed controversial laws that lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10 years old.
This decision reverses a previous move to raise the age to 12 and has drawn fierce criticism from human rights organisations, doctors, Indigenous groups, and international experts.
Despite this, the NT government, led by the Country Liberal Party (CLP), insists that the change is necessary to tackle rising youth crime rates.
What is behind this u-turn?
In 2023, the NT was the first jurisdiction in Australia to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12. However, following a landslide election victory in 2024, the new CLP government, under Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, moved swiftly to reverse this decision.
On Thursday, the NT parliament passed three new laws, including the return of the criminal responsibility age to 10, stricter bail conditions, and criminal provisions targeting ram-raiding and social media boasting about crimes.
“We have this obligation to the child who has been let down in a number of ways, over a long period of time,” Finocchiaro told the parliament. “And we have [an obligation to] the people who just want to be safe, people who don’t want to live in fear anymore.”
Finocchiaro stated that re-lowering the age would allow courts to intervene early in the lives of young offenders by placing them in rehabilitation programs. “We make no apologies for delivering on our commitments to reduce crime for all Territorians,” she added.
However, critics argue that the legislation will disproportionately target Aboriginal children and will only exacerbate long-term problems. The NT has the highest rate of child incarceration in the country, and Aboriginal children are jailed at 11 times the national average.
Independent MP Yingiya Guyula, a Yolŋu man, condemned the law as “racist,” telling BBC, “It is just colonisation — somebody else is making decisions for us in the community when they should be listening to our people.”
What is the debate over youth crime and punishment in Australia?
The debate over youth crime has escalated in Australia, with various states experiencing a surge in youth-related offenses. The NT has been particularly affected, with a series of violent incidents leading to the imposition of curfews in cities like Alice Springs.
Proponents of the new laws believe that tougher measures are needed to address these issues, especially regarding crimes like ram-raiding.
CLP member and former youth worker Clinton Howe defended the laws, arguing that jail was the only consequence that had a deterrent effect on young offenders. “For some of these children, it is the only thing left,” Howe said. “We must intervene early for the sake of the child… in the environment they live in, no one else cares.”
However, former NT attorney-general Chansey Peach, who led the charge to raise the age of criminal responsibility in 2022, expressed disappointment, saying, “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.”
Peach, along with many experts, fears the new laws will only further entrench vulnerable children in the criminal justice system. “Putting children into cells… that is child abuse,” he added.
Does incarceration in young children help them?
Research both globally and in Australia suggests that incarcerating children often leads to worse outcomes, making them more likely to reoffend while harming their health, education, and employment prospects.
A recent report from the Australian Human Rights Commission found that youth incarceration was driven by “populist ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric” rather than evidence-based policies.
Professor Fiona Stanley, founding director of the Telethon Kids Institute, warned that jailing children would create more problems. “If you want to create a monster, this is the way to do it,” she told SBS News.
According to Stanley, most young offenders have neurological or developmental disabilities, and placing them in prison is “inhumane, ineffective, and expensive.” She advocates for early intervention and therapeutic programs, rather than punishment, as a way to prevent youth crime.
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Doctors and human rights advocates echo these sentiments. Australian Medical Association president, Professor Steve Robson, stated, “Prison should not be a rite of passage for any child.” Robson argued that incarceration not only harms children mentally but also stunts their physical development.
The NT’s children’s commissioner, Shahleena Musk, a Larrakia woman, criticised the government for focusing on punitive measures instead of addressing the root causes of crime. “We shouldn’t be seeing these kids going into a youth justice system which is harmful, ineffective, and only compounds the very issues we’re trying to change,” she told BBC.
Is this law a step towards systematic racism?
One of the most contentious aspects of the new laws is their disproportionate impact on Aboriginal children.
The NT’s Indigenous population is already overrepresented in the justice system, and experts warn that lowering the age of criminal responsibility will exacerbate this. Indigenous leaders and advocates argue that the laws reflect a broader issue of systemic racism.
Independent MP Guyula expressed his frustration, stating, “It’s [targeted] at Indigenous people.” Guyula, along with other Indigenous leaders, is calling for a more community-driven approach to dealing with youth crime, highlighting that prevention and support, not punishment, are the keys to reducing crime rates.
A report from the Australian Human Rights Commission calls for raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14, in line with international standards. It recommends that Australia invest in support services for children instead of incarcerating them.
How are other territories in Australia faring?
As the debate rages on, the NT stands as the only Australian jurisdiction to lower the age of criminal responsibility back to 10. Meanwhile, other states and territories are moving in the opposite direction.
The Australian Capital Territory has raised the age above 10, and Victoria has passed legislation to raise it to 14 by 2024, while Tasmania plans to follow suit by 2029.
Critics fear that the NT’s decision could arrest national momentum for reform. Jared Sharp, principal lawyer for the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), called on the government to reconsider. “We will see 10-year-olds in prison, and this is not the way for any civilised society to be going forward,” Sharp told SBS News, urging the government to rely on research rather than “popular politics.”
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With inputs from agencies