Between 2016 and 2023, the number of young people aged 10 to 13 years found guilty of a criminal offence in New South Wales (NSW) fell markedly. This paper examines if this decline and other trends can be explained by the landmark 2016 High Court of Australia decision RP v R. The decision in the case of RP v R clarified the application of the legal principle of doli incapax, which presumes that children under 14 years are incapable of criminal responsibility unless proven otherwise.

The paper examines trends in the volume of court appearances for 10-13 year olds; whether these court appearances resulted in a proven offence; for proven matters, the severity of the penalty; the extent to which prosecutors withdrew all charges; and the extent of guilty pleas.

It finds that by stipulating what is required to rebut doli incapax, the RP v R decision likely reduced the number of young people aged 10-13 found guilty of a criminal offence.

Key findings

• The proportion of 10-13 year olds with a proven outcome in the NSW Children’s Court fell dramatically from 76% in 2015-16 to 16% in 2022-23.
• Over the same period, the volume of 10-13 year olds charged by police has been mostly stable.
• There has also been a notable decline in guilty pleas among this age group, falling from 54% in 2015-16 to 14% in 2022-23.
• Similar trends have been observed in Victoria and South Australia, indicating a national impact of the RP v R decision.