Queensland should work with other states and territories to consider raising the criminal age of responsibility from 10 to 12, but not pass a bill to increase it to 14, a parliamentary committee says.
After a series of hearings investigating whether the state should increase the age to 14 as proposed by a Greens bill, the committee's report said "there is more work to be done" before any reform.
But the recommendation goes against the majority of submissions and witness testimony, Greens MP and Member for Maiwar Michael Berkman said in his dissenting report.
On any given day during 2021, there was an average of about five children aged between 10 and 13 in police watch houses, 76 per cent of whom were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, the report tabled on Tuesday says.
"Queensland's current minimum age of criminal responsibility has had devastating effects for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people," Queensland Family and Child Commissioner Natalie Lewis told the committee.
"They enter earlier, stay longer and exit the system under positive circumstances far less often."
But vulnerable children in regional Queensland typically don't have access to other support services, Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers says.
"It is really saddening to me that in areas where our First Nations children are there are no services or no facilities to take them to," he told the committee.
"At times the only safe place is the(Police and Community Youth Clubs). They have now restricted their hours at times, but that is the only place where youth will go."
Mr Berkman said it was deeply frustrating the report suggests reform has to wait for the government to do more work but failed to recommend an increase of funding for existing, proven programs.
"Despite the overwhelming evidence, the Committee has not recommended raising the age of criminal responsibility," he said.
Increasing the age to 12 will improve the lives of less than 10 per cent of the 10-13 year old children in custody or under supervision, the Greens MP said.
"At some point in the future, when this reform is many years behind us, we will reflect on how inconceivable it is that children as young as 10 were once held criminally responsible for their actions and locked up as a result."
