This report examines interactions of young people aged 10 to 13 years with the NSW criminal justice system in 2023. The study finds that the number of young people offending is small and these children have overwhelmingly experienced significant childhood trauma and disadvantage prior to their contact with the justice system. 

In NSW, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is 10 years of age, meaning that a child aged under 10 years cannot be found guilty of a criminal offence. In recent years there have been discussions across Australia about raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 or 14 years. This report looks at the interactions of children in this age range with the criminal justice system in order to better understand the individuals that would be affected by changes to the minimum age of criminal responsibility and their circumstances. 

The study finds that most 10- to 13-year-old children who appear in court are from disadvantaged backgrounds; the majority have been victims of violence, had significant contact with the child protection system and have a parent with a history of offending.  Aboriginal children and children living in regional and remote NSW are disproportionately affected.

Key findings

• In 2023, the NSW Police Force initiated 4662 legal proceedings against young people aged 10 to 13 years.
• These proceedings were against 2144 distinct young people. 61% were aged 13 years, 28% were aged 12, 8% were aged 11 and 3% were aged 10 years.
• 41% were Aboriginal.
• The rate of proceedings was more than three times as high in regional and remote areas.
• 82% of children with a court appearance had been identified in a child protection report as at risk of significant harm; 60% had received 10 or more such reports.
• 56% had been recorded by NSW Police as victim of violence.
• In 2023, 171 distinct young people under the age of 14 experienced at least one episode of youth detention.
• 60% of those who experience youth detention were Aboriginal.