What Age Can A Child Be Charged With Assault In Australia? (Doli Incapax & Rules)

What Age Can A Child Be Charged With Assault In Australia?

Minimum Age Of Criminal Responsibility By Australian Jurisdiction

From the minimum age up to a child’s 14th birthday, the common law presumption of doli incapax applies. This means prosecutors must prove the child knew their conduct was seriously wrong in a moral sense, not just “naughty”, before a court can find them criminally responsible. In practice, this makes it harder to secure an assault conviction against a 10-13 year old than against a teenager aged 14-17, even though both appear in the Youth Justice system.

What Age Can You Be Charged With A Crime Globally?

Globally, the age of criminal responsibility varies widely, from as low as 7 in some countries to 18 in others. Many European nations sit around 14 as the minimum, which is the age recommended by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child as a reasonable international standard. Some common-law countries adopt lower ages but then build in safeguards or special procedures to limit detention or encourage welfare responses instead of punishment.

Being “old enough to be charged” is not the same as being easily convicted. Many systems, like Australia’s, pair a minimum age with presumptions about a child’s capacity, diversion schemes and Youth Justice courts. Different countries balance child protection and community safety in different ways, which is why you see a mix of higher ages, special rules for very serious crimes, and strong emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation rather than early incarceration.

Can A Child Be Charged With Assault In Australia At Specific Ages?

Once a child reaches the local minimum age of criminal responsibility, they can in theory be charged with assault or similar offences, subject to doli incapax up to 14. In most jurisdictions, this means police may lay an assault charge from age 10 onwards, while in the ACT the threshold is now 14 and in Victoria 12, with special rules for the most serious offences.

In practice, what happens to a 12 or 13-year-old accused of assault depends heavily on their understanding, background and the seriousness of the alleged conduct. Prosecutors must show the child understood the behaviour was seriously wrong, and Youth Justice agencies often explore diversion, cautions or conferencing before formal court proceedings. Real-world cases involving early teens usually proceed in the Children’s Court, which has specialist sentencing options and a strong focus on rehabilitation.

Can I Charge A 12-Year-Old For Assault On My Daughter In Australia?

You cannot personally “lay charges”, but you can report the incident to police, who decide whether to investigate and whether any charge is appropriate. If the other child is above the minimum age of criminal responsibility in that state or territory, police may consider an assault or related youth offence, subject to the doli incapax test for 10-13 year olds.

Police and prosecutors must weigh the evidence, the child’s maturity and the public interest in proceeding. Even if charges are laid, Youth Justice processes often emphasise diversion, restorative justice, counselling and supervision rather than immediate detention. For parents, it is usually best to seek legal advice early, both to understand realistic outcomes and to manage the impact on all children involved.

What Is The Youngest Age You Can Go To Jail In Australia?

Legally, a child can only be detained once they are old enough to be held criminally responsible in that jurisdiction. In most of Australia this is from age 10, in the ACT it is 14, and in Victoria it is now 12, although detention is meant to be a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period.

In reality, very few children under 14 end up in detention, but it does happen. National figures show that in 2023-24 about 11.4% of young people in detention were aged 10-13, with a heavy over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

If a child in your family is facing custody, our youth-focused criminal defence team can help push for diversion, community-based orders or dismissal wherever the law and evidence allow, and work to minimise the long-term impact.

What Happens If Extremely Young Children Commit Offences?

Children under the minimum age of criminal responsibility cannot be charged with assault or any other criminal offence in Australia. If a child under that age hurts someone, the matter is treated as a welfare and safety issue, not a criminal case, and police usually work with child protection, schools and health services rather than the courts.

Responses might include family support, counselling, behavioural programs or closer supervision, depending on the level of concern. Authorities are generally more interested in understanding what is driving the behaviour and whether the child is themselves at risk of neglect, abuse or trauma, rather than attaching a criminal label that could increase long-term justice involvement.

What Happens If A Baby Commits A Crime Hypothetically?

In strict legal terms, babies and very young children have no criminal responsibility at all. They are incapable of forming the intent required for an assault or similar offence, so the law treats any harm they cause as accidental and managed entirely through adult responsibility, insurance and civil law, not through the criminal courts.

If, for example, a toddler injures someone while playing, the focus would be on whether parents or carers took reasonable precautions, not on charging the child. Questions about supervision, safety measures and appropriate environments are handled under negligence or child-protection frameworks, reflecting the basic principle that infants cannot be blamed or punished in the criminal sense.

If A Child Commits A Crime Who Is Responsible Legally?

If a child above the minimum age of criminal responsibility commits an alleged assault, the primary criminal responsibility rests with the child, dealt with through the Youth Justice system. Parents do not automatically face criminal charges simply because their child has offended, although they may be drawn into bail undertakings, supervision plans or family-based interventions ordered by the court.

In civil law, an injured person might sue the child, and sometimes the parents, particularly where there is evidence of inadequate supervision or knowledge of dangerous behaviour. Australian courts have recognised that parents can be liable in negligence if they fail to take reasonable care to control a child whose behaviour is likely to harm others, even though there is no general rule that parents are vicariously liable for every wrong a child commits.

Can Parents Go To Jail For Their Children’s Crimes?

Direct imprisonment of parents purely because their child offended is extremely rare in Australia. There is no general offence of “parent liability for child crime”. However, parents or carers may face charges in their own right if they encourage or direct offending, or if their neglect or abuse forms a separate criminal offence.

Where problems relate more to poor supervision or unsafe environments, the usual consequences are child-protection involvement, civil liability or court-ordered education programs rather than jail. The law tries to distinguish between deliberate criminal conduct by adults and the broader social and welfare factors behind youth offending, although in practice these boundaries can sometimes be tested in serious or high-profile cases.

Can A Minor Be Charged With Assault Or Other Crimes?

Yes, a minor aged at or above the minimum age of criminal responsibility can be charged with assault, theft, drug offences and many other crimes. For most of Australia that means from age 10, for the ACT from 14, and for Victoria from 12 after the 2025 reforms. Charges are usually heard in a specialist Children’s Court rather than the adult courts, with different sentencing options and privacy rules.

However, being charged does not guarantee conviction. For 10-13 year olds the prosecution must overcome doli incapax, showing the child knew their conduct was seriously wrong. Even after conviction, courts must apply youth-specific principles that emphasise rehabilitation, education and minimal intervention, so outcomes might include cautions, good-behaviour bonds, supervision or community-based orders instead of detention, particularly for first-time or lower-level assault matters.

What Happens If A Child Commits A Serious Crime?

Where a child is accused of a serious violent offence such as grave assault causing significant injury, Youth Justice systems still apply but with more intensive supervision and closer scrutiny. The case may proceed in the Children’s Court with more formal case management, psychological assessments and specialist legal input, and for older teenagers, some matters can be committed to higher courts.

Courts carefully look at the child’s maturity, family background, trauma history and risk of reoffending. Options range from strict community-based orders and residential programs, to youth detention for the gravest cases. However these are always subject to the principle that custody should be a last resort and used for the shortest appropriate time. Public concern about youth crime often drives debate, but sentencing still has to follow statutory principles and consider a young person’s long-term prospects.

Can You Sue A Child For Assault?

In civil law, it is technically possible to sue a child for assault if they have caused injury, but practical and fairness issues may arise. Courts assess whether the child has the capacity to understand the risk and whether it is reasonable to impose a duty of care, which usually becomes easier as the child approaches adulthood or engages in adult activities, such as driving.

Because children rarely have assets, victims often instead look to parents, schools, clubs or other organisations that may have been negligent in supervision, or to insurance policies that respond to personal injury or public liability. In those cases, the court pays close attention to whether adults took reasonable steps to control known risks in a child’s behaviour, without assuming automatic parental liability for every playground incident.