Criminal Code Amendment (age of criminal responsibility) Bill 2022

On 1 August 2023, the Northern Territory Government will raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) from 10 to 12 years.

This is the first step in acknowledging and addressing the needs of children that often enter a lifetime cycle of crime from an early age.

The decision was informed by the:

• recommendations from the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory (RCPDCNT)
• research that clearly shows that the earlier a child comes into contact with the justice system, the more prolonged their involvement is likely to be.

This is a preventative approach, focusing on early intervention and diversion to address concerning behaviours in children.

What the changes mean

From commencement, if a child aged 10 or 11 engages in behaviour that would normally constitute an offence, they will no longer be dealt with through the criminal justice system.

Instead NT Police and Territory Families will initiate a response that will refer the child and their family to the On the Right Track program. This program helps children and their families to address the root causes of their behaviour. This is the same way that we currently approach this kind of behaviour in children under 10.

Victims will still have access to support.

NT Police will continue to conduct investigations and respond to the needs of victims.

To keep the community safer, we have to be smarter when it comes to dealing with this very small cohort of children.

You can also read the expungement and non disclosure - fact sheet PDF (142.3 KB).

Summary of legislative amendments

The Criminal Code Act 2022 will do the following:

• raise the MACR from 10 years to 12 years of age
• simplify the statutory tests commonly known as doli incapax which the courts use to determine whether a child under 14 years of age has the mental capacity to commit an offence
• for a charge or conviction relating to an offence committed or alleged to have been committed when the child was under 12 years or age:
• remove that charge or conviction from a person’s public criminal history
• prohibit new proceedings from being brought against the child
• discontinue ongoing proceedings against the child
• discharge the child from ongoing order or obligations (i.e. bail conditions).

Background

The Bill was introduced into the Legislative Assembly in October 2022.

More information

Read more about the changes to the law on the NT Government website.