Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration calls to raise Australia’s age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 News
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Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration calls to raise Australia’s age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14

The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA) Sunday hosted the Indigenous Youth Justice Conference, which adopted a joint resolution calling to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14. The conference examined “many complex issues associated with Indigenous youth justice” and promoted “meaningful discussion about ways to improve the situation.”

The conference, held in Sydney between October 29 and October 30, was a collaboration between the Law Society of South New Wales and AIJA. It was the first time the conference met in person since 2019. The conference brought together expert presenters, elders, community leaders, medical specialists, academics and members of the judiciary and legal profession. Together, conference attendees discussed the issue of indigenous justice and the imprisonment of children below the age of 14.

President of the AIJA Jenny Blokland highlighted the disproportionate representation of indigenous youth in detention centers across Australia. She said that indigenous youth make up half of children in detention, but only 6% of Australia’s population aged 10 to 17 years old. Blokland said that “Indigenous youth are roughly 16 times more likely to be in detention than non-Indigenous young people.”

The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction of Australia to raise the age of criminal liability from 10 to 12. The AIJA called on governments to raise the national age from 10 to 14,  labeling this issue as a “strategic priority area” that the organization has spotlighted since 2002.

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