Raise The Age

The ACT Government has passed legislation to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 in 2023, and then to 14 in 2025, with exceptions.

This is not good enough. The minimum age of criminal responsibility must be raised to at least 14 now, with no exceptions.

Use our easy email tool to email Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury, Premier Andrew Barr and your local MP and urge them to Raise the Age to at least 14 years old.

The ACT Government has passed legislation to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 in 2023, and then to 14 in 2025, with exceptions.

This is not good enough. The minimum age of criminal responsibility must be raised to at least 14 now, with no exceptions.

Use our easy email tool to email Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury, Premier Andrew Barr and your local MP and urge them to Raise the Age to at least 14 years old.

Email the ACT Attorney-General

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To Mr Shane Rattenbury, Attorney-General,

I am writing as a concerned constituent in your electorate to urge you to urgently raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 with no exceptions.

I understand that the ACT Government has passed legislation to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 in 2024, and then to 14 in 2025, with exceptions.

This is not good enough; it does not meet the minimum standards set by the United Nations and is a failure to protect the rights of ACT children.

Children under the age of 14 don’t have the ability to navigate consequences and long-term impacts of behaviour – science shows their brains haven’t developed to that point yet.

We’re incarcerating children who don’t understand the gravity of their behaviour, and then wondering why that behaviour doesn’t change.

When children are exposed to the legal system at a young age, it perpetuates tremendous harm and trauma, and can lead to the ongoing criminalisation of their behaviour. This is because prisons simply don’t have the capacity to provide the care and support young children need.

The evidence shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are disproportionately targeted and harmed due to systemic, institutional and individual racism. State and Territory Governments in Australia are 26 times more likely to imprison Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children than their non-Indigenous peers.

The global minimum standard of 14 is based on neurotypical kids, but many kids who come into contact with the system have disabilities and impairments which require additional healthcare, support and understanding.

As I write to you, there are children with disabilities and impairments being held in solitary confinement across the country, breaching the United Nations Convention Against Torture, as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Australian Capital Territory Government must commit to funding therapeutic and non-punitive programs that keep children away from the legal system and out of prison.

We need community-driven solutions, intensive family support programs, trauma-informed mentorship and on-Country learning that supports children to learn from their mistakes instead of locking them away.

Every child should be free to go to school, have a safe home to live in and be supported to learn from their mistakes. We should be supporting children to develop and thrive, not locking them in cages.

Please, raise the age to at least 14 without exceptions and ensure the Australian Capital Territory children have the opportunity to start high school and build a bright future.

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