Raising the age of criminal responsibility (7 September 2020)

Sydney Ideas

In Australia, you need to be 18 to vote, 16 to drive a car, 13 to get a Facebook account. But the current age of criminal responsibility is 10. An estimated several thousand children under 14 appear in court on criminal matters each year. The vast majority of these are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. Apart from the undeniable long-term social costs, keeping young people in prison is also an enormous financial burden so where is the justification? THE SPEAKERS – Dr Michael Doyle, Senior Research Fellow, University of Sydney Central Clinical School – Roxanne Moore, Executive Officer, National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) – Dr Nicole Watson, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney Law School – Associate Professor Megan Williams (Moderator), National Centre for Cultural Competence, University of Sydney For more info and resources, visit the Sydney Ideas website: https://bit.ly/2PLLw7i