Raising the age of criminal responsibility in Victoria to 12 rather than 14 would make no sense and ignore best practice, human rights, children and Indigenous advocates say.
Currently, children as young as 10 can be arrested, held on remand and jailed across the nation for committing crimes.
Australian states and territories have agreed to develop a plan to raise the age to 12, but a draft report last year recommended raising the age to 14 without exception.
The Victorian government could be poised to adopt the lower figure, with an announcement likely as early as next week.
Attorneys-general are scheduled to meet in Darwin on April 28 after Premier Daniel Andrews earlier this year flagged Victoria would soon go it alone if a national consensus couldn’t be reached….