ACT raises the age of criminal responsibility to 14 with nation-first legislation

Emergency warnings are in place for fires burning near Dalveen, The Glen, Silverwood, Cherry Gully ; Watsonville and Silver Valley in QLD.Children in the ACT under the age of 14 will not be charged, convicted or incarcerated for criminal offences — except in exceptional cases — from mid-2025.

The ACT's minimum age of criminal responsibility will initially rise to 12, as support services are refined.Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said the bill was about changing the trajectory for young people and improving the safety of the community. Community Services Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said existing systems in the ACT would be able to respond.

"This is around changing their lives, around making sure that we actually change their trajectories and make our communities safer in doing so. "The proposed carve-outs for children aged 12 or 13 years convicted of severe crimes such as murder or sexual assault further represent a profound legal inconsistency and is logically incoherent."

"Our commitment to enhancing and meeting human rights can tolerate the exceptions, only when we have a clear and material plan to abolish the exemptions."Mr Rattenbury said despite disagreements between Labor and the Greens on some details, the government's overall approach was backed by the advice of experts.

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