Committee Details

COMMITTEE'S REPORT

The committee tabled its report on Tuesday, 15 March 2022. 

About the Bill 

On 15 September 2021, Mr Michael Berkman MP, Member for Maiwar, introduced the Criminal Law (Raising the Age of Responsibility) Amendment Bill 2021 (Bill) into the Queensland Parliament.  The Bill was referred to the Community Support and Services Committee for detailed consideration and report.

The explanatory notes state that the objective of the Bill is to ensure children under 14 years of age are not incarcerated or otherwise punished under the criminal legal system, consistent with current medical understanding of child development and contemporary human rights standards.

The Bill aims to achieve this objective by raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Queensland from 10 to 14 years old and transferring any children under 14 years old out of custody. The Bill also aims to negate the consequences of prior offending by children while under the age of 14, including, for example, the creation of records in relation to such offending.

Timeline