SMH: When is a child responsible for a crime? Not everyone likes the answer

November 18, 2025

The NSW Government’s new laws to make it easier to find children criminally responsible for their actions are aimed at redressing a decade-long problem, but have met resistance from the opposition and legal groups.

Attorney-General Michael Daley on Tuesday announced laws to give prosecutors more ways to argue against doli incapax – a legal principle that assumes children aged 10 to 13 cannot be found criminally liable for their offending because they are too young to know their actions were seriously wrong.

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The Justice and Equity Centre argued the laws would result in more children in prison.

Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 18 November 2025

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