Hundreds of pages of documents produced to the Senate reveal the federal government’s talking points for pushing back against calls to raise the age of criminal responsibility to align with international standards, even as legal advice argues they have the power to do so.
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Legal advice obtained last year by the Justice and Equity Centre (JEC) from barristers Kate Eastman AM SC and Emma Dunlop found the Commonwealth could intervene under section 51(xxix) of the Constitution to meet its international human rights obligations.
The advice argues the Constitution “provides the Commonwealth Government with legislative power to prescribe a minimum age of criminal responsibility for offences against state and territory law to the extent such a law is appropriate and adapted to give effect to Australia’s obligations” described in sections of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child — ratified by Australia in 1990.
“Section 51(xxix) of the Constitution provides the Commonwealth Government with legislative power to set minimum standards for the treatment of children and young people in state and territory criminal legal systems,” the advice reads.
