The Briefing: what the ACT’s motion to endorse raising the age of criminal responsibility actually means

Crux of the issue

In a move that appeared to break a federal-state-territory consensus to defer the issue until after a 2021 report, the ACT Legislative Assembly passed a motion on August 20 showing in-principle support for raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 and — in the event Labor wins in October — undertaking policy work in order to develop relevant legislation.

The debate

On July 27, Australia’s Council of Attorneys-General (CAG) heard an update from a review by the Age of Criminal Responsibility Working Group into raising the age of criminal responsibility, but voted only to defer the issue until the group’s final report is released in 2021; notably, the working group — a body established