How the NT’s new age of criminal responsibility laws will work

The age of criminal responsibility will soon lift from 10 to 12 in the Northern Territory – marking a first in Australia. Here’s how it will work.

Territory government reforms raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 will come into effect early next week.

It comes after the NT government passed legislation to raise the age in November last year – the first of its kind in Australia.

From August 1, any incarcerated children aged 10 and 11 will be released – however a government spokeswoman said there were no children of those ages currently in detention.

Territory Families Minister Kate Worden said $5m and 20 new staff had gone into the government’s On The Right Track program to provide offending kids with individualised support and diversion strategies.

Territory Families Minister Kate Worden says the move is about preventing future crime. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“The main focus of this program is for parent responsibilities and working with parents and diversionary activities for young people under the age of 12,” she said.

“They make up a very, very small cohort of young people that are in detention … in fact, less than around 1 per cent of young people that are detained each year fall into this age group.

“About 3 per cent of young people in this age group are those that are offending.”

The new staff will be based across Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Katherine.

But the Opposition Country Liberal Party’s justice spokesman Bill Yan said $5m and 20 staff “goes nowhere near meeting that expectation” that those children would be supported.

The CLP’s Bill Yan criticised the government for a lack of resources going into diversion programs but at the same time reiterated his party would return the age of criminal responsibility to 10-years-old if elected. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“There’s far more that needs to be done for those young people to support them, so they don’t end up in the criminal justice system,” he said.

However he reiterated that the opposition would seek to reverse the reforms if elected to government in August next year.

“The CLP has not supported raising the age of criminal responsibility and we’ve said that from day dot,” he said.

NT Council of Social Service chief executive Stephanie Kelly welcomed the move as a step towards prioritising children’s developmental, health and wellbeing needs over a “punitive” approach.

NTCOSS chief executive Stephanie Kelly has welcomed the reform but said the organisation would be keeping an eye on how the government implemented it.

“This change signals a move closer to the 2019 recommendations by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, including that all countries increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years of age,” she said.

“Agency and service responses will work to prioritise early and targeted support wrapped around families, which is based in evidence and best practice.

“It is about intervening earlier to wrap children and families up in supports that disrupt any future contact (with the justice system).”

Dr Kelly said NTCOSS looked forward to seeing exactly how the government would implement the change.

“It will be important to ensure that the right services are available to the children and families concerned if the new legislation is to lead to improved outcomes for children at risk and ultimately, better solutions for children, young people, families and communities,” she said.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said while kids aged 10 and 11 only represented 1 per cent of incarcerated children, they were an important group to target.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said there was “still a lot of work to do” on youth crime. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“The evidence is very clear, the earlier a child comes into contact with the justice system, the more prolonged their involvement is likely to be,” she said.

“It doesn’t make them a better child, it makes them a better criminal.

“That’s why we need smarter justice policies that address youth crime through intervention, prevention and diversion.”

A government spokeswoman said police would still intervene if a 10 or 11-year-old was engaged in anti-social behaviour by finding a responsible adult and raising a case with Territory Families.

The family may then be referred to programs including school re-engagement or flexible learning, parenting programs or agreements, youth camps and conferences and mental health or substance abuse support.

Meanwhile, the Children’s Commissioner has announced her office will probe the forced movement of locked up Alice Springs kids to Darwin’s notorious Don Dale facility.