About The Campaign

Everyone knows that children do their best when they are supported, nurtured and loved. But right now across Australia, children as young as 10 can be arrested by police, charged with an offence, hauled before a court and locked away in a prison.

We know these laws are harming children at a critical time in their lives. When children are forced through a criminal legal process, at such a formative time in their development, they can suffer lifelong  harm to their health, wellbeing and future.

The #RaiseTheAge campaign was born to change this. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, organisations and activists have been pushing for the age of criminal responsibility to be changed for decades, having seen first hand how locking away young children and removing them from their communities and families only does more damage.

In 2020 a coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and legal, medical and human rights groups came together to form a national campaign to push every single state, territory and federal government to change the laws so that children under 14 cannot be sent to prison. These organisations included the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, Change the Record, Human Rights Law Centre, Law Council of Australia, Amnesty International Australia, Australian Medical Association, Public Health Association of Australia and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. The campaign is now supported by over 100 organisations in every state and territory with new groups signing up every week.

Together, we have written thousands of letters and emails, lobbied politicians, built a powerful and diverse alliance, held press conferences, events and rallies, written op-eds, run social media actions and used every opportunity possible to speak out against this injustice across Australia.

Tens of thousands of people have joined the campaign too. Together we are making a huge difference. We have seen the ACT Government commit to raise the age, and there are promising signs in several other states. We will not stop until the federal government and every state and territory has changed the law raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14.

 #RTA has been developed by

The Road Ahead

The solution is simple. No child belongs in prison. As a first step, all Australian governments must raise the minimum age at which a child can enter the criminal legal system from 10 to at least 14 years of age. 

There is a growing chorus of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, expert United Nations bodies, human rights groups, medical and legal bodies, academics and individuals calling on Australia to raise the age.

We all have a role to play. We must keep the pressure on governments until they all have changed the law to prevent 10, 11, 12 and 13 year old children from being charged with an offence and locked up in prison. 

Together, thousands of community members like you have worked together to put #RaiseTheAge on the national agenda, secure media coverage and educate the public about the shocking reality that children face when they are locked up in prison. We need to make sure the campaign stays in the public focus and cannot be ignored. 

Now is the time for all of us to speak together and show that the support for raising the age continues to grow. There are lots of ways you can get involved- and take action.

 Join The Campaign Alliance

The following organisations have joined the call to #RaiseTheAge the campaign:

Aboriginal Justice Caucus

AbSec

Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS)

ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS)

Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA)

Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT

Anglicare Australia

Anglicare Southern Queensland

Anglicare WA

ANTaR

Association for Children with a Disability

Australian Association of Social Workers 

Australian Childhood Foundation

Australian Health Promotion Association

Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association

Australian Law Students' Association

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights

Australian Red Cross 

Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth (ARACY)

Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC)

Berry Street

Brotha Boy Youth Justice

Brotherhood of St Laurence

CareSouth

Caritas

Catholic Social Services Victoria

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress 

Central Australian Youth Justice (CAYJ)

Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare

Centre for Multicultural Youth 

Children and Young People with Disability Australia

Children's Ground

Civil Liberties Australia

Community Legal Centres Australia 

Community Restorative Centre

Connected Self

CREATE Foundation

Criminal Justice Reform WA

Deadly Connections

Federation of Community Legal Centres (Vic)

First Peoples Disability Network (FNDP)

For-Purpose Evaluations

Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) 

Frontyard Youth Services 

Illawarra Women's Health Centre

Jesuit Social Services

Just Reinvest NSW 

Justice Connect 

Justice Reform Initiative

Justice-involved Young People Network

knowmore

Koorie Youth Council

Liberty Victoria 

Liberty Victoria's Rights Advocacy Project

Life Without Barriers

Mission Australia 

Multicultural Australia

Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN)

Murdoch Children's Research Institute

National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners

National Justice Project

National Youth Commission Australia

New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties

NPY Women's Council

NT Legal Aid Commission

Northern Territory Council of Social Services (NTCOSS)

Orygen

Oxfam Australia

Partnership for Justice in Health

PeakCare Queensland

Phunktional Arts

Public Interest Advocacy Centre

Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS)

Queensland Advocacy Incorporated

Queensland Human Rights Commission

Reconciliation NSW

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists

South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS)

South Australian Network of Drug and Alcohol Services (SANDAS)

Save the Children

Settlement Services International

SHINE for Kids

Social Reinvestment WA

Social Ventures Australia

St John’s Youth Services 

Street Smart Australia

The Centre for Innovative Justice

The Foundation for Young Australians

The Hello Initative 

The Kimberley Foundation

The National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition 

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners 

The Salvation Army Australia

The Uniting Church in Australia Synod of Victoria and Tasmania 

The Uniting Church of Australia Queensland Synod (Queensland Synod) 

The Victorian Bar Inc.

The Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC)

The Youth Affairs Council of WA 

Twenty10

UNICEF Australia

Uniting Church Vic Tas 

UnitingCare Australia 

Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO)

VACRO 

Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency

Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS)

Victorian Legal Aid

VMIAC

WA Council of Social Service (WACOSS)

West Justice

Women's Justice Network

Women’s Legal Service Victoria

World Vision Australia

Yfoundations

Youth Action

Youth Advocacy Centre Inc. 

Youth Affairs Council Victoria

Youthlaw

Youth Focus

Youth Law Australia