Supplementary Submission: Question on notice: sentencing children for terrorism offences

Submission Date: 14 April 2026

The Law Council of Australia attended the public hearing conducted as part of your review into the definition of a “terrorist act” in part 100.1 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) on 10 March 2026. At this hearing, the following question was taken on notice:

I’m interested in your general comments on your experience of the current system for sentencing children, for federal offences, terrorism in particular about federal offences in general, because I’m a little concerned that it might be somewhat complex and confusing and may vary between jurisdictions depending on where the child is charged or tried, even though it’s a federal offence.

The Law Council shares the concern about the potential for inconsistent treatment of children charged with federal offences. The Law Council acknowledges comments by Five Eyes¹ and the Director-General of Security regarding the increased number of children being investigated by both the police and security services in connection with allegations of violent extremism, political violence and terrorism.² In doing so, the Law Council recognises that young offenders can and do commit crimes that can have significant effects on their victims and the community, and that our society needs to develop effective policy responses to such offending.

Since the review of sentencing children for terrorism offences conducted by Dr James Renwick SC in 2018, the Law Council has grown increasingly concerned about two broad trends concerning children and the criminal law across Australian jurisdictions.³ First, the Law Council is concerned about the trend towards responding to youth crime with increasingly punitive legislative changes that purport to combat perceived youth crime crises. Second, the Law Council is concerned about the increasing divergence of sentencing outcomes for children between jurisdictions in ways that raise questions about Australia’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.⁴ This concern has been heightened by recent amendments to sentencing principles for children across a number of jurisdictions.⁵ The Law Council is particularly concerned about changes to sentencing principles that erode the principle of detention as last resort,⁶ and displace the best interests of the child,⁷ in favour of other purposes.

^{1 Five Eyes, Young people and violent extremism: a call for collective action (October 2024) <https://www.asio.gov.au/system/files/2024-12/Young%20people%20and%20violent%20extremism%20-%20a%20call%20for%20collective%20action.pdf>
2 See Mike Burgess, Director-General's Annual Threat Assessment 2025, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (19 February 2025) <https://www.asio.gov.au/director-generals-annual-threat-assessment-2025>.
3 James Renwick SC, Report to the Prime Minister: The prosecution and sentencing of children for terrorism, Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (Report, 26 November 2018).
4 Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature 20 November 1989, GA res 44/25, UNTS 1577 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990).
5 A summary of recent changes is available in Law Council of Australia, Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system (Submission to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, 23 December 2025), 6–26.
6 Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature 20 November 1989, GA res 44/25, UNTS 1577 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990) art 37(b).
7 Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature 20 November 1989, GA res 44/25, UNTS 1577 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990) art 3(1).}

Last Updated on 13/05/2026

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