Jailing children as young as 10 is a “national tragedy” and should be abandoned to protect some of Australia’s most vulnerable youngsters, the AMA says.

In a push to raise the age of criminal responsibility, the AMA has released a joint statement with the Australian Law Council outlining why the law should change.

They called on all governments to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10, as it is in all Australian jurisdictions, to 14.

This would bring Australia into line with international human rights standards, as well as medical consensus on child brain development, their statement said.