State Council, last Saturday, heard that Federation’s involvement in the Raise the Age NSW campaign continues to build, with a growing number of organisations supporting the call to raise the age of criminal responsibility in NSW from 10 to at least 14.
The broad coalition includes Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations, peak bodies, unions, large charities, small community and place-based organisations, and influential and respected voices and experts from across NSW and Australia.
A significant number of the organisations backing the campaign provide frontline services in communities across the state.
Background
In May 2022, the Inner West Teachers Association brought to Federation’s state Council a motion noting that: “The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on countries to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old. China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Sierra Leone, Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Rwanda have taken this step and we must do the same for Australian kids. Our society must look after and protect vulnerable young people. Those held in detention at a very young age are disproportionately from Indigenous backgrounds; meaning having an age of criminal responsibility of 10 is systematic discrimination against the youth of our First Peoples and should end.”
The motion was endorsed unanimously. In October 2023, the Raise the Age NSW campaign was launched, with Federation a part of a lead group working alongside other organisations including the Aboriginal Legal Service, AbSec, the Justice and Equity Centre, the Australian Services Union NSW and ACT branch, Amnesty International, Just Reinvest NSW, NSW Council for Civil Liberties and NCOSS.
Since the launch, over a hundred organisations have signed up as partner organisations, including the NSW AECG, Reconciliation NSW, Welfare Rights Centre, The Parenthood, the Adam Briggs Foundation and the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association.
Federation members are encouraged to sign up as individual supporters of the Raise the Age NSW campaign and stay connected for updates.