Raise the Age
Media and commentary about our work to Raise the Age, because children belong in schools and communities, not prisons.
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NIT: PM urged to intervene as states push laws increasing child incarceration
We supported calls from NATSILS for the Commonwealth Government take action on state and territory laws driving child imprisonment.
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NIT: Advocates warn more children will be ‘churned through the system’ after NSW law changes
CEO Jonathon Hunyor said the NSW Government should focus on real solutions, including raising the age of criminal responsibility.
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SMH: When is a child responsible for a crime? Not everyone likes the answer
We argued that changes to doli incapax will mean more children receive prison sentences.
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NIT: Experts: Albanese has power — and duty — to lift age of criminal responsibility
Legal advice from Senior Counsel makes it clear the Commonwealth can act to protect children from harmful laws.
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ABC the World Today: Calls for federal intervention on youth justice
CEO Jonathon Hunyor and NATSILS CEO Karly Warner explained why the Commonwealth Government can and should take action to protect children.
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ABC News: Use constitutional power to raise age of criminal responsibility nationwide, lawyers tell PM
Expert legal advice commissioned by the JEC clearly shows the Commonwealth can and should act to protect kids from harmful state laws.
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Prime Minister has the power to ensure children are safe and protected. It’s time for action.
Advice obtained from Senior Counsel by the JEC makes clear that the Commonwealth has the Constitutional power to act on youth justice reform.
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Bill Crews on 2GB: Jonathon Hunyor on why locking kids up does not work
CEO Jonathon Hunyor explained how ripping kids out of their communities and locking them up harms children and doesn’t prevent crime.
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2SER: Crime stats show more kids are being locked up
JEC Solicitor Kate Sinclair joined 2SER to explain why locking up kids isn’t working.
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SMH: Why police can’t prove children like Harry committed serious crimes
Our CEO Jonathon Hunyor explained to the SMH why the NSW review into doli incapax is a distraction from the real issues.
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B&T: “That Night Nearly Destroyed Me, But It Also Lit A Fire Inside”: What UnLTD’s Adland Bail Out Taught Me About Justice, Hope & Shame
UnLtd’s Bail Out event gave advertising execs an experience being locked up and raised over $100,000 for the NSW Raise the Age campaign.
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Little Black Book: UnLtd’s ‘Raise the Age’ Campaign Achieves 45% Awareness Boost
The Raise the Age NSW Campaign’s advertising campaign is raising awareness and changing sentiment.
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ABC Illawarra Drive: New public campaign to raise the age in NSW
Raise the Age NSW Campaign Manager Emily Mayo spoke about why the advertising industry has joined the campaign.
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Mumbrella: Industry calls on NSW Government to raise age of criminal responsibility with new campaign from UnLtd
The marketing and creative industry has given the Raise the Age NSW Campaign its support.
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Newcastle Herald (ACM): Children as young as 10 can be imprisoned. Advocates say it isn’t working
Emily Mayo, Raise the Age Campaign Manager, explained how ‘tough-on-crime’ approaches were failing.
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2SER: The need for justice reform to Raise the Age
Raise the Age Campaign Manager Emily Mayo joined 2SER to explain why new stats show the need to raise the age of criminal responsibility.
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The Guardian: New figures show NSW children are being ‘criminalised for their disadvantage’, advocate says
Jonathon Hunyor, the chief executive of the Justice and Equity Centre, said the report “confirms that children are being criminalised for their disadvantage”.
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BOCSAR Report shows children are being criminalised for disadvantage
A concerning report provides more evidence that the NSW Government must raise the age of criminal responsibility.
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Coalition of experts call on NSW government to raise age of criminal responsibility
Lead campaigner for Raise the Age, Emily Mayo, says criminalising children not only causes them harm, but hurts other children, families and the community. “Services, communities and workers are coming together in NSW to support raising the age because we know the issues, understand the problems and can build the alternatives,” she said. “The NSW…
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Renewed push for NSW to raise age of criminal responsibility to 14
More than a dozen organisations have formed a coalition to push the New South Wales government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, arguing the status quo is harming young people and entrenching social issues. … The lead campaigner for Raise the Age NSW, Emily Mayo, said the change…
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Leading Organisations come together to #RaiseTheAge in NSW
A coalition has come together in NSW to call on the NSW Government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14. The group includes First Nations organisations, legal and human rights organisations, peak bodies in the non-government sector and unions. They bring a deep understanding of the impact of criminalising children along…
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Jailbaby urges justice reform
PIAC was thrilled to host a special performance of Jailbaby and conversation with award-winning playwright Suzie Miller at Griffin Theatre Company recently. Jailbaby tells the story of two young Australian men, Seth and AJ, treated unequally by the institutions they come up against because of their different backgrounds . The play details how class and…
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An evening with playwright Suzie Miller
Suzie Miller is a lawyer and playwright. Her play RBG: Of Many, One ran at the Sydney Theatre company between October and December 2023. Suzie’s other work includes the hugely successful Prima Facie, which will play on Broadway later this year, following success on London’s West End and in cinemas as part of the National…
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Paul Ramsay Foundation boosts the Raise the Age campaign
The NSW campaign to Raise the Age has received a significant boost, thanks to a generous commitment of campaigning and financial support from the Paul Ramsay Foundation. Raise the Age is a national campaign to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to at least 14 years of age. The NSW campaign involves a…
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UN urges Australia to improve treatment of people in detention
A report from the UN Committee Against Torture urges government action to improve Australia’s treatment of people in police custody, prisons, youth detention centres and immigration detention. The report follows a UN subcommittee visit to review places of detention in Australia, which was dramatically suspended in October when authorities in NSW and Queensland refused to…
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‘No child belongs in prison’: 128,000 signatures to raise the age in NSW and Victoria
More than 128,000 community members, lawyers, and advocates from NSW and Victoria have called for the age of legal responsibility to be raised to at least 14, and for an end to arresting, handcuffing, strip-searching and jailing children as young as 10. “The verdict from medical, legal and child development experts is clear: criminalising children…
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NSW petition to raise the age gets 63,000 signatures
Public Interest Advocacy Centre CEO Jonathon Hunyor said locking up children fails our community. “The verdict from medical, legal and child development experts is clear: criminalising children causes lifelong harm,” he said. In March, a NSW budget estimates hearing revealed 293 children aged between 11 and 13 had spent time in custody in 2021. More…
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2SER interview: Raise The Age
Right now, politicians are sending children as young as ten years old to be locked away in prison. PIAC is calling on MPs to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old and instead invest in solutions that work. 2SER Breakfast spoke with PIAC Solicitor and Gomeroi women, Emma Bastable about the NSW Raise the…
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Opinion: Australia must raise the age of responsibility to 14 or keep trapping children in a quicksand of criminality
Op ed by PIAC Senior Solicitor Emma Bastable, and Luke McNamara from UNSW Centre for Crime, Law & Justice.
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A better path, a safer future. How do we raise the age of criminal responsibility?
A joint seminar with the UNSW Centre for Crime, Law and Justice (CCLJ) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). Right now, in every Australian state and territory, children as young as ten can be arrested, charged and sent to jail. This is despite decades of medical, social and legal research highlighting the harm this…