Support for children with serious harmful behaviour

The age of criminal responsibility in the ACT is 12 years old. This means a child under 12 who breaks the law cannot be arrested or charged with a crime.

Instead, the child can be referred to the Therapeutic Support Panel for Children and Young People.

The panel will:

• assess the causes of a child’s hurtful actions and recommend treatment or ways to manage their needs
• develop a therapy plan, if needed, to reduce the likelihood of hurtful actions happening again.

The latest evidence shows that given the child's development at this age, responding with therapy is more likely to have:

• a positive effect on changing actions
• reduce future hurtful actions.

A child may be referred to the panel for assessment and support if they have a genuine therapeutic need. For example, they:

• are at risk of hurting themselves or someone else
• have caused serious property damage
• have been cruel to an animal
• have hurt themselves or someone else
• have shown any other serious or destructive actions.

How the therapeutic support works

The panel is a group of experts who know a lot about children and what they need to be safe. They focus on the child and put the child’s needs first. They include:

• social workers
• psychologists
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members who can work with families in a culturally safe way.

The panel is supported by an experienced therapeutic case management team.

Assessing the child’s needs

The panel knows that children who engage in harmful behaviour are likely to have many different challenges in their life.

When the panel gets a referral, they will assess the child’s situation to understand their needs. This includes:

• talking with the child and their family or carer to understand what is happening
• gathering information from services, care teams and people who know the child, such as a school or social worker
• considering the harm the child has caused, for example through a victim harm statement.

They will give advice to the child and their family or carer on what might help. They can help coordinate support and therapeutic services.

Getting a therapy plan

If the panel decides the child needs more support, they will:

• make a therapy plan with the child and their family or carer
• support the child and their family or carer to follow the plan.

If the therapy plan is not followed

The Community Services Directorate may apply to the Childrens Court for an intensive therapy order for a child over the age of 10 years. It means the child:

• must have a behaviour and need assessment
• must follow their therapy plan if they have one
• as a last resort, may stay in a place where they can get assessed and receive therapy and treatment.

How children get to see the panel

Agencies and people who can refer children are:

• ACT Policing
• ACT Government directorates and agencies
• ACT education providers and teachers
• health facilities and health practitioners
• a judge or magistrate
• ACT Civil & Administrative Tribunal member
• register or deputy registrar of the Supreme Court, the Magistrates Court, the Childrens Court
• Chief Executive Officer of ACT Courts and Tribunals
• Human Rights Commission
• Public Advocate
• Legal Aid Commission
• a person who has daily or long-term care responsibility for the child (such as parent, foster carer or kinship carer).

If you’re a parent or carer

You can contact the panel if you're worried a child in your care may hurt someone or themselves.

If your child and family is already getting help, you can ask them to refer your child. This might be your caseworker, therapist or doctor.

If you’re a child or young person

You can call us if:

• you think you might hurt someone or something
• you want help.

Refer a child to the panel

To refer a child, you must tell us about:

• the child
• the risks of harm
• support services the child and family already have

You must tell us if:

• the child and family know you are referring them
• they consent to sharing their information.

Contact us

To find out more or refer a child, read about the Therapeutic Support Panel.

• Call 02 6205 0082
• Email TSPreferral@act.gov.au.

If you are a victim of a crime committed by child

The panel must consider the harm to you and your family when they decide a child’s therapy plan.

If you are a victim of harm by a child under 12, you may choose to:

• Seek support from Victims Support ACT.
• Write a statement that describes how the child’s behaviour harmed you.

If the child is over 10, you can ask for a referral to a restorative justice conference.  This is a process that aims to heal the harm caused by the child's behaviour.