Children under 14 are incapable of evil and should be protected from criminal responsibility, NSW review finds

<p>Review was led by former supreme court judge turned parole authority chair Geoffrey Bellew SC and former NSW police deputy commissioner Jeffrey Loy</p><ul><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>A centuries-old legal presumption that children aged between 10 and 14 are not capable of evil should become law, a New South Wales review led by a former supreme court judge and a former senior NSW police figure has recommended.</p><p>In NSW, the criminal age of responsibility is 10 but the common law presumption of doli incapax – Latin for “incapable of wrong” – can apply up to 14, offering protection for children being prosecuted on the presumption they don’t understand the difference between right and wrong.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/25/children-under-14-are-incapable-of-evil-and-should-be-protected-from-criminal-responsibility-nsw-review-finds">Continue reading...</a>