Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association urges health‑first reforms and raises youth crime age

The Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA), together with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, appeared before the Senate Committee Inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system on 3 July 2026. They called for a national health‑first legislative framework that intervenes early in cases of disability, mental ill‑health, trauma, housing instability and cultural disconnection, placing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander‑led, community‑controlled services at the centre of reform.

AIDA also renewed its demand that the Commonwealth raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years, citing United Nations recommendations and evidence that children aged 10‑13 belong in school and community settings, not prisons. The testimony highlighted that many children entering the justice system have already experienced poverty, racism, trauma, homelessness and family violence, indicating systemic failure rather than individual culpability. The association urged rapid implementation of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s “Help Way Earlier!” roadmap for reform.