Most Australian states and territories set an age of criminal responsibility of 10 years old, with the exception of Victoria, which sets it at 12, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) which sets it at 14. The age of responsibility for federal crimes is also 10.

“The lack of any meaningful national response to the youth justice crisis that is washing across the country is disturbing,”

The senators [also] said the evidence they had heard made clear that youth crime rates were in fact falling “in stark conflict with the hyped media reporting” and yet more children than ever were being locked up.

“Submission after submission, from criminologists, human rights bodies, communities and frontline services told the same story about punitive laws created as result of political and media pressure rather than evidence.

“These laws are making communities less safe, and mean children’s prisons in this country are locking up children who are overwhelmingly poor, First Nations, and living with disability or trauma in a system that was never built to respond to and in fact exacerbates these characteristics.