Law councils unanimous on raising the age after Darwin meeting

THE Law Council of Australia has renewed calls for the age of criminal responsibility in the NT to be raised to 14, saying the current age was “a national tragedy”.

Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses, SC, has renewed calls for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to 14, following a conference in Darwin at the weekend. Picture: Richard Dobson

THE Law Council of Australia has renewed calls for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to 14, following a conference in Darwin at the weekend.

Law council directors from throughout the nation voted unanimously at the meeting to call on all Australian jurisdictions to raise the age “to improve justice outcomes for vulnerable children”.

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LCA president Arthur Moses, SC, said the change was needed as children under 14 were “not sufficiently able to reflect before acting or comprehend the consequences of a criminal action”.

“Children belong in their communities with their families and guardians, not in detention,” he said.

“Imprisonment should be a last resort when it comes to children, not a first step.”

The age of criminal responsibility in the NT is 10, which Mr Moses described as “a national tragedy”.

“There is something wrong when children can’t join Facebook until 13 but in Australia can be prosecuted for a criminal offence at 10,” he said.

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Last month, the NT Court of Appeal reinstated the acquittal of a 13-year-old boy accused of raping a woman in Nightcliff after it found prosecutors failed to prove he knew his actions were morally wrong — a legal principle known as doli incapax.

Mr Moses said the “confusing and complex” rule would be made redundant if governments raised the age to 14.

“(Doli incapax) continues to wreak confusion as to whether the defence or prosecution bears the burden of proving that a child knew their conduct to be wrong,” he said.

“This leads to errors and results in children being held in custody for lengthy periods of time before the presumption can be led or tested in court, and the child acquitted.”

Territory Families Minister Dale Wakefield said the government supported the youth justice royal commission’s recommendation to raise the age to 12 “in principle” and was considering ways to implement it “in a way that creates safer communities”.

Ms Wakefield said the government had also established programs for at-risk children below the age of criminal responsibility, including the Back on Track program targeting wayward children aged between eight and 13.