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Amnesty International welcomes the recommendation put forward from a review of Queensland’s youth justice system that the focus must be on prevention and diversion programs, but calls on the QLD government to recognise and address the overrepresentation of Indigenous kids in the system and raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14. The review was […]

Amnesty International Australia welcomes the Tasmanian government’s confirmation the state will raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years of age without exception in their Youth Justice Blueprint. This represents significant progress for child rights in Australia. The Tasmanian government today confirmed the decision in its response to the Commission of Inquiry […]

The campaign to raise the age across Australia is gaining momentum, but what does this mean for human rights and Indigenous rights?

After the 2020 Australian Capital Territory election, Shane Rattenbury MLA was appointed Attorney-General. Prior to this, Rattenbury had led the push for the government to commit to raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility. The Amnesty International Australia Community is Everything (CIE) team met with Attorney-General Rattenbury to discuss the progress of raising the age. […]

The ACT is the first jurisdiction in Australia to make a commitment to bring its laws in line with UN standards. Now it’s time for the rest of the country to follow this leadership. The longer jurisdictions wait, the longer little kids are exposed to the harmful conditions of prison. If the government can form […]

On Monday 27 July, it was decided that further work needed to be done before governments could make a decision on raising the age. However, there is still hope. If the government can form and resource a Working Group with a deadline of 6 months to report back, then that’s a big step towards kids […]

Amnesty has welcomed that the ALP has recognised the need to address the ongoing over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the justice system at a Federal level, but is calling for action on locking kids up. Rodney Dillon, Indigenous Rights Adviser at Amnesty International Australia said: “Prevention and diversion are key to […]

Acknowledging the Northern Territory Government’s response to the The Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory, Roxanne Moore, Amnesty International Indigenous Rights Campaigner said: “The NT Government has today led the way for Australia by agreeing in principle to #RaiseTheAge of criminal responsibility. “Right now, the Northern Territory, and […]

In response to today’s passing of the marriage equality bill by the upper house of Thailand’s Parliament, Amnesty International’s Thailand Researcher Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong said: “Thailand has taken a historic step towards becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize marriage for LGBTI couples. This landmark moment is a reward for the tireless work of […]

Amnesty celebrated this Refugee Week by speaking with Refugee advocates who shared their stories of resilience, courage, hope and family. Zaki, Hedayat and Noor’s experiences reveal the difficulties they’ve faced, their hopes for the future, and the significant ways they’ve been able to contribute to Australian society after being given a fair go. While this […]