We argued the Commonwealth Parliament should use its external affairs power to protect children from harm by state and territory criminal legal systems.
The JEC made a further submission to the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system in December 2025. This submission updates on the recent legal advice obtained by the JEC and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (‘NATSILS’). That advice is the basis for our recommendations to the Committee that the Commonwealth Parliament use its constitutional powers to:
- raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility nation-wide to at least 14 years old, without exception;
- legislate minimum standards for the treatment of children and young people in all criminal legal systems, including those of the states and territories; and
- incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Australian law through a National Children’s Act.
If enacted, these reforms would help to protect children in criminal legal systems across the country and remedy inconsistent and uncoordinated approaches to legal protections of child rights at the federal, state and territory level.
