A group of 60 organisations in the Aboriginal, legal, health, faith, youth, and human rights sectors has urged Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to immediately raise the criminal age of responsibility to 14, with no exceptions.

Victorian Legal Aboriginal Service chief executive Nerita Waight, said implementing the recommendations of a report prepared by the Standing Council of Attorneys-General (SCAG) to raise the age to 14 would be an "important step" to reducing the number of children in prison.

"All the expert advice says that children under 14 years old do not have the capability to be criminally responsible and that prison only harms their development," she said.

"We know that prison is culturally damaging to Aboriginal children. It only traumatises them and undermines their biggest strengths - their connection to family, culture, and community.

"No child should be in prison and raising the age to at least 14 years old will be an important step towards giving every child a fair chance in life."

While Victoria has the lowest rate of young people in custody in the country (5.8 per 10,000 young people), Aboriginal young people in the state remain drastically over-represented in custody (28.3 per 10,000 young people).

Mr Andrews announced this year that he would be willing to raise the age of criminal responsibly earlier than other states and territories to maintain Victoria's reputation as "the most progressive in the country." The Northern Territory has raised the age from 10 to 12, whilst the ACT has announced plans to introduce legislation to raise the age to 14 – with limited exceptions.

Acting Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, Amala Ramarathinam, said children belong in the playground, "never in prisons and police cells."

"Daniel Andrews cannot call Victoria the most progressive state or territory in the country if the Victorian Government continues to lock 12-year-old children behind bars," she said.

"For years the Andrews Government has been sitting idle on advice from medical experts, independent parliamentary inquiries and their own justice department that the age of criminal responsibility should be raised to at least 14 years.

"Anything less…will continue to be an abject failure by the Andrews Government to uphold the human rights of children and young people in Victoria."

Youth Affairs Council Victoria chief executive Katherine Ellis said they "supported" Andrew's progressive intentions, but those words needed to be turned into action.

"Instead of locking up children and young people, it is far better to invest resources into wraparound services which improve health and community outcomes for these children," Ms Ellis said.

"All the evidence and human rights standards clearly recommend a minimum of 14 years, without exceptions, to ensure better outcomes for the children and their communities, now and for the long term."

Previously, SCAG developed a proposal to raise the criminal age to 12 – against the recommendations in their own report – which said: "The Commonwealth, State and Territory governments should raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 years of age, without exception".

Submissions to the report made clear that medical and health evidence confirms that incarceration is damaging for all children, with internationally accepted human rights standards calling for the age to be raised.

A letter sent to all Premiers, Attorneys-General, and Health Ministers in December 2021 from a group of 32 health and medical organisations, showed the medical consensus was that children under the age of 14 are undergoing significant growth and development, meaning they may not have the required capacity to be considered criminally responsible. It went on to say that:

"There is also clear evidence that Victorian children in our criminal legal system have high rates of additional neurocognitive impairment, trauma and mental health issues.

"The evidence overwhelmingly shows that when children in the very young age bracket of 10 to 13 years of age are forced through a criminal legal process during their formative developmental phases, they suffer immense and enduring harm."

In August 2022, a petition was handed over signed by over 65,000 Victorian residents which called on the government to raise the age to 14.

Government ministers and high-ranking public bureaucrats are expected to front the Yoorrook Justice Commission, in April, with reforms such as raising the age of criminal responsibility likely to be discussed.

Ms Waight said the government must act now.

"If the Victorian Government keeps the age of criminal responsibility below 14 years old or creates exemptions for certain behaviours, then they have ignored the expert advice and chosen to play politics instead of doing what is right.

"They have committed to raising the age, now they must go the whole way to deliver it."

A Victorian Government spokesperson told National Indigenous Times that any change to the minimum age of criminal responsibility "needs careful planning to determine the most appropriate settings so that the best outcomes are achieved for children while ensuring the safety of all Victorians".

"Victoria will continue to work with other jurisdictions to consider the detail of any increase to the age of criminal responsibility but reserves the right to make further announcements in this space down the track," they said.

"(We are) continuing to tackle the root causes of youth offending - because the best outcome for young people is to avoid contact with the justice system in the first place."

According to the state government, as at 17 April 2023 there were no children aged 10, 11 or 12 years old in a Victorian youth justice custodial facility and there were 10 young people aged between 13-14 years of age.