Criminal records of children under 12

On 1 August 2023, the Northern Territory Government raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) from 10 to 12.

The MACR is the minimum age that someone can be prosecuted for committing a crime. Read more about the MACR.

Under the Criminal Code Amendment (Age of Criminal Responsibility) Act 2022, past charges or convictions will be expunged for children under the age of 12.

Expunged means 'to be treated in law as if a person had never committed or been charged with, prosecuted for, convicted of or sentenced for the offence'.

Get the illustrated fact sheet PDF (996.5 KB).

What this means

If you committed an offence when you were under the age of 12, you don’t need to do anything.

This means:

  • courts can’t take expunged offences into account for any future charges
  • any ongoing proceedings against you will be cancelled
  • you will be released from ongoing orders or obligations - e.g. bail conditions
  • you will be released from policy custody or detention
  • you don’t have to tell anyone about the charge or conviction
  • it’s an offence to reveal or get information about your expunged charge.

From 1 August 2023, it will be an offence to disclose this information.

Disclosing criminal records

Government and non-government organisations must not disclose an expunged criminal record.

This is now an offence and carries a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units or 6 months’ imprisonment.

However, the law allows you to share information when it’s related to the safety and wellbeing of a child.

This means you can disclose a tendency towards certain behaviours, but you must not share information about actual arrests, charges or convictions.

Example 1.

You can’t say – John stole a car and was charged with theft.

You can say – John has a history of risky behaviour, like joy riding

Example 2.

You can’t say – Jane was found guilty of aggravated robbery.

You can say – Jane has a history of aggressive and violent behaviour using weapons.

Organisations must ensure:

  • any records related to expunged criminal offences are marked for non-disclosure
  • staff are educated on their duty of non-disclosure and have resources to assist them, e.g. policies or training materials.

More information

Read the fact sheet:

Expungement and non-disclosure - fact sheet PDF (142.3 KB)
Expungement and non-disclosure - fact sheet  DOCX (69.2 KB)

Contact

For more information about the expungement or non-disclosure provisions, contact Legal Policy.

GPO Box 1722, Darwin NT 0801

Ph: 08 8935 7668
Fax: 08 8935 7662
policy.agd@nt.gov.au

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