Members of Canberra's community, legal and youth sectors have called on the ACT government to put politics aside and move to progress a reform to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
Legislation to raise the age of criminal responsibility in the territory has stalled, despite strong momentum earlier in the parliamentary term and declarations that laws would be introduced in early 2022.
Labor and the Greens are understood to be divided on when to introduce legislation and the form it will take. There is a commitment in the Labor-Greens power-sharing agreement to raise the age but an exact age is not specified.
The Greens want the age raised to 14, as do community advocates, but the territory's police have called for the age to be only raised to 12. Other states are also only considering raising the age to 12.
The government commissioned an almost $120,000 review last year to look at the impact of raising the age of criminal responsibility on young people and their families, which was led by Australian Catholic University Emeritus Professor Morag McArthur. Professor McArthur was the founding director of the Institute of Child Protection Studies.
The report found sweeping reforms of the ACT's services system would be needed when the age of criminal responsibility is raised and the report concluded legislative changes alone would not result in better outcomes for children.
ACT Children and Young People Commissioner Jodie Griffiths-Cook said there were no excuses for delaying legislation as the report provided a road map on how to raise the age of criminal responsibility.
"Our community rightly expects children to be supported in age-appropriate and therapeutic ways," Ms Griffiths-Cook said.
"Because we don't have an adequate system to provide the supports that are needed, we are seeing these children end up in the criminal justice system.
"There is no excuse for delays - and we urge the ACT government to implement the road map as a matter of priority."
Aboriginal-led justice coalition Change the Record has called on Chief Minister Andrew Barr to make good on the promise in the power-sharing agreement.
"The ACT holds itself out as a progressive leader on social justice and human rights - so why is it dragging its feet on a reform that would ensure 10- to 13-year-old children are looked after in community and kept out of prison?," Change the Record executive officer Sophie Trevitt said.
"The legal, human rights, First Nations and child service sectors here in the ACT are united behind the need to raise the age to at least 14 years old."
Youth Coalition of the ACT executive director Justin Barker said there were no intervention services outside of the criminal justice system for children aged between 10 to 14 who needed support. He said raising the age would help to ensure these services could be implemented.
"Right now there is nothing in place for 10- to 14-year-old children who need support. These kids are falling between the gaps and the government is failing to keep them healthy, happy and thriving with prison being used as a stop-gap instead," Dr Barker said.
"We are extremely concerned that politics might be getting in the way of these crucial reforms."
