Northern Territory moves to raise age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12

A sign for Don Dale youth detention centre in Darwin. The Northern Territory government has introduced legislation to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian

The Northern Territory government is seeking to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 years old to 12 years old.

The Labor government introduced the legislation to parliament on Thursday, saying authorities would now refer children under the age of 12 and their families to intensive parenting and behavioural change programs to break the cycle of offending.