Most criminal cases will start in the Children’s Court if the accused is a young person. Many will be finalised there, but more serious matters will usually be transferred to the District or Supreme Court, where the young person will be dealt with under the same laws that apply to adults.
Age of criminal responsibility
In Australia, children under the age of 10 cannot be charged with a criminal offence.
If they are between 10 and 14 years old, the prosecution has to show that they knew what they were doing was seriously wrong for a case to continue.
If they were under 18 when the alleged offence occurred and have not yet turned 21, they are considered a ‘child’ under the law.
In this section of the website, and in the courts, a ‘child’ charged with a criminal offence is referred to as a ‘young person’.
ODPP prosecutes serious crimes
The ODPP takes over the prosecution of most serious crimes involving a young person from police, including all sexual offences where the victim is a child.
The ODPP will contact you if you are a victim or another key witness in a matter we take over. We will also usually want to meet you before the matter goes to court to discuss your witness statement, help you feel prepared to give your evidence, and explain what is likely to happen in court on the day you appear (see Going to court and being a witness). If you have a Witness Assistance Service (WAS) officer, they will also help you feel ready to give your evidence. This can include taking you on a tour of a court so you know who the people are and what they do.
The Children's Court – first step in most matters
Most matters involving a young accused person start off in the Children’s Court, where they are asked to plead. (Traffic offences by a person old enough to have a licence are an exception and are dealt with in the Local Court.)
If there isn’t a Children’s Court in the area, the Children’s Court will usually sit in a Local Court courthouse.
Unlike other courts, Children’s Court proceedings are not open to the general public. To attend, you have to be directly involved, a family member of someone who died as a result of the crime, or a member of the media. Media reports cannot identify the young person, although if they are convicted of a very serious offence, the court can allow their name to be published.
Other ways in which the Children’s Court is different from other courts are that proceedings are less formal, and the magistrate will take care to explain to the young person what is happening and to give them the opportunity to be heard.
Next step depends on charges
Whether a matter stays in the Children’s Court or is committed (transferred) to the District or Supreme Court will depend on the charges and the nature of the crime. This is because there are limits on the penalties the Children’s Court can impose, and they may not be severe enough in very serious matters.
Other reasons a Children’s Court magistrate might commit a matter to a higher court include if adults were charged over the same offence and they are being dealt with in the District or Supreme Court.
When a matter is committed to a higher court, the young person will be dealt with there under the laws that apply to adults (although when it comes to sentencing, the judge will take their age into account or can choose to sentence them according to the penalties in the Children’s Court).