By Felicity Stewart, Dennis Byles, Melanie Hull
This report examines cases sentenced or diverted in Victoria involving offences committed by children aged 10 to 13 at their offending, including their demographics, offending profiles and sentencing outcomes.
The report follows the introduction of numerous reforms in the new Youth Justice Act 2024, such as raising the age of criminal responsibility to 12, and various measures for children aged 12 and 13 aimed at addressing the causes of their offending. The report is intended to assist with the implementation and monitoring of the new Youth Justice Act by providing information about the age and gender of young children who offend, the offences they commit and the sentencing outcomes they receive.
Key findings
Very few cases sentenced in Victoria involve an offence committed by a child aged 10 to 13 (less than 1 in 300 cases).
Most offences committed by sentenced younger children were committed when the child was aged 13 and most children were male.
Children from regional Victoria are overrepresented among young children in the justice system.
Aboriginal children are also overrepresented.
The most common offence by children aged 10 to 13 was theft, accounting for 30% of offences by children aged 10 to 13, with property damage accounting for a further 14%.
Younger children tended to receive less severe sentencing outcomes than older children.
State of Victoria, Sentencing Advisory Council, 2025. 88p.
