New youth crime laws pass NSW parliament.

Last Thursday, 27 November, the Government passed the Children (Criminal Proceedings) and Young Offenders Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, following a Government-requested independent review into doli incapax, a principle that considers children aged 10 to 13 to not have the capacity to be criminally responsible.  

With the new legislation, courts will be given clearer rules to decide, according to the surrounding circumstances, if a child was aware their conduct was seriously wrong and should be held criminally responsible. 

A recent report from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) found that the rate of children between 10 and 13 found guilty of criminal offences declined sharply over the last decade. The government noted the same decline didn’t show in states that legislate doli incapax. 

“These reforms ensure doli incapax operates in the best interests of children and the broader community,” said Attorney General Michael Daley. “It gives police and the courts more tools to break the cycle of youth offending and keep the community safe.” 

“We have expanded access to diversionary options and given the courts greater clarity around the circumstances which can be considered when rebutting doli incapax.”  

As the review recommended diversions as the best response for less serious offences, the legislation includes options for children to access diversionary options when they make a statement either not denying or admitting details of the offence.  

These include formal cautions, access to tbehaviour change programs, mental health counselling, or drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Eligibility does not guarantee access; NSW Police and courts retain the right to convict if the case is not appropriate for a diversion. 

“Every time I travel across the state, people say that police are doing everything they can to prevent crime, disrupt crime and put offenders before the courts. But they can’t shoulder this burden alone,” said Minister for Police and Counter-Terrorism Yasmin Catley. 

“Police and the NSW Government want young people walking into community programs, not courtrooms. We’ll keep backing the good work happening on the ground to steer young people away from crime and towards a better future.”  

Back in June, the Law Society of NSW’s Children’s Legal Issues, Criminal Law, Human Rights and Indigenous Issues Committees contributed a submission to the Review, stating “we respectfully suggest that the focus of the Review should be on promoting earlier consideration of the presumption of doli incapax by police and the Courts to minimise children being exposed to, and becoming entrenched in, the criminal justice system, and improving the availability of effective diversionary therapeutic support services to these children to better address the underlying drivers of antisocial or harmful behaviour.”   

The Law Society also pointed out that, since the number of children of that age committing offences was already so small, investing in and facilitating trauma-informed therapeutic intervention is achievable and cost-effective, particularly when compared with the costs of the resources in the criminal justice system. 

“The Law Society suggests that consideration of the operation of doli incapax in NSW must recognise that this cohort of children exists at the intersection of compounding disadvantage, at individual, family and community levels. In our view, addressing the drivers of antisocial or negative behaviour in children will require long-term, whole of government investment into family capacity building, as well as the broader economic and social wellbeing of local communities, alongside appropriate criminal justice system reform.” 

 The bill continues the Government’s focus on addressing youth crime, including a considerable investment in remote areas to support young people on bail, an increase in funding for community safety in regional NSW, and more than $100 million in additional youth justice funding. 

 “We need to strike the right balance”, said Minister of Youth Justice Jihad Dib. “[H]olding young people to account and giving appropriate consequences whilst at the same time recognising that the best long-term outcomes come from diversion, support and early intervention to keep young people from interacting with the justice system.”