WHAT ARE THE EXISTING LAWS?
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* Children as young as 10 can be arrested, remanded and jailed in juvenile detention across Australia if charged or found guilty of a crime
* No children aged 10, 11 or 12 were being held in Victorian youth detention as of last week
* Eleven 13- and 14-year-old children were in youth detention, none of whom identify as Aboriginal
WHAT CHANGES ARE THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PROPOSING?
* To raise the age of criminal responsibility in Victoria from 10 to 12 with no exceptions
* Codify and strengthen the existing legal presumption of doli incapax, which states a child under 14 cannot be held criminally responsible unless they knew their actions were seriously wrong
* Government to work with police to decide appropriate responses to "very rare instances" of 10- and 11-year-olds seriously offending
* Introduce legislation later this year
* Reforms to come into effect in late 2024
* Raise the age to 14 by 2027 with some exceptions for serious crimes. Types of crime covered still to be determined
* Second change subject to alternate youth justice model in consultation with an independent review panel
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
* Australian states and territories in late 2021 agreed to develop a plan to raise the age to 12
* A draft report last year recommended raising the age to 14 without exception
* Northern Territory government to raise the age to 12 in the second half of 2023
* ACT government to lift it to 14 by 2026
* Tasmanian government to raise the minimum age of detention to 14 by the end of 2024 but keep criminal responsibility at 10
* Premier Daniel Andrews this year said Victoria would go it alone if a national consensus could not be reached
* Standing Council of Attorneys-General to meet in Darwin on Friday
WHAT ARE PEOPLE AND GROUPS SAYING?
* "I know that today's announcement falls short of the expectation of moving to 14 immediately but it is a great step. This is going to be nation-leading. We will be the first state to raise the age" - Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes
* "If the government is simply to say that nobody under the age of 12 can be charged with a crime, even if they have mental capacity to know exactly what they're doing, where is the accountability?" - Shadow Attorney-General Michael O'Brien
* "I'd like to see it legislated for sooner than 2027. They don't need four years to do this." - Victorian Greens MP Tim Read
* "There is no reason that the Government cannot fully implement this reform before the next election" - Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Nerita Waight
* "I don't understand why we have to wait four more years to make this change. I know it takes time to plan, but why will it take so long?" - First Peoples' Assembly co-chair Geraldine Atkinson
* "Today's decision is a betrayal of Victoria's children, especially those who have been victims of poverty, violence and abuse" - Human Rights Law Centre acting managing lawyer Amala Ramarathinam
* "A weak decision from a (government) still paranoid about being wedged on law and order instead of committing to evidence-based reform" - Liberty Victoria
* "Whilst this is a step in the right direction, it's a job half-done" - Save the Children Australia chief executive Mat Tinkler
* "Anything less than 14, or with exceptions, ignores the evidence and risks further entrenching children experiencing serious disadvantage in the criminal justice system" - WestJustice's Anoushka Jeronimus
Australian Associated Press
