The Victorian government's controversial decision to backtrack on their promise to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 continues to attract criticism.

After the announcement on Tuesday, Indigenous groups labelled it a "betrayal", while human rights organisations said it would do nothing to help community safety.

Many labelled the move a political decision not based on evidence, with much of the hype around youth crime generated by "fear mongering" reporting, as argued by Victorian Aboriginal legal Service CEO Nerita Waight.

"This looks suspiciously like a knee-jerk reaction to efforts by Victoria Police – aided by some members of the media – to scare people into thinking Victoria is in the middle of a youth crime wave," Djirra CEO and Change the Record Co-Chair Antoinette Braybrook AM said.

The government has said that no children under 14 are currently incarcerated in Victoria, however data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows Indigenous children in the state are ten times more likely to be locked up than non-Indigenous children.

Whilst sentiment around youth crime has risen in the state, statistics show alleged offenders aged 10 to 13 are only associated with one per cent of all alleged offender incidents, compared to 14–17-year-olds (10 per cent) and adults (88 per cent).

"The youth crime wave narrative we are all reading about and seeing in the media is not reality. The Allan Government must not fall into the trap of confusing information from a biased, politically motivated scare campaign as a substitute for evidence and fact," Ms Braybrook said.

Amnesty International Australia, Jesuit Social Services and Save the Children all voiced criticism of the announcement on Tuesday, as did some politicians and commentators.

The Victorian Opposition are against raising the age from ten to 12.

On Wednesday, the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) said while the commitment to raise the age to 12, part of the original Youth Justice Bill before parliament, was an "important step in the right direction," the government's decision to walk back their commitment to raising the age to 14 by 2027 was disappointing.

"The LIV and other legal, medical and child experts have long called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to 14 years old, in line with medical evidence which shows that children undergo significant cognitive development at this age," they said in a statement.

They said the previous iteration of the Youth Justice Bill, announced in June, struck the "right balance."

It featured the codifying of Doli Incapax, a principle of youth justice that argues a child under 14 must understand that their actions are 'seriously wrong' rather than merely 'naughty or mischievous', as well as committing to raise the age to 12 and a legislated scheme for warnings, cautions and early diversion powers for the police.

Victoria will become the first state in the country to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12.

"The LIV encourages the Victorian Parliament to pass the Youth Justice Bill with its core principles of diverting children and young people away from the criminal justice system, and in doing so improving outcomes for children and building safer communities," LIV chief executive Adam Awty said.

"The LIV is deeply concerned that the Government is walking back on its promise to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years of age by 2027."

The decision to raise the age to 14 was made by former premier Daniel Andrews as part of a two-stage process but wasn't expected to come in until 2027—after the next election. It was subject to an "Alternative Service Model" which the government said last year would be developed by a five person Independent Review Panel.

"Our community is at a critical juncture where we can take action informed by the evidence of experts and built on years of consultation to deliver a youth justice framework that protects our children, diverts them from the justice system, and has appropriate safeguards to keep the community safe," Mr Awty said.

"We owe it to our kids and the community to get the youth justice reforms right."

Whilst National Indigenous Times understands some of that expertise from the panel in the cautionary and diversion space may go to the government's new Council on Bail, Rehabilitation and Accountability (COBRA), it is unclear exactly where this leaves the Independent Review Panel's five members.

The Victorian Department of Justice was contacted by National Indigenous Times for a comment on the future of the Independent Review Panel.