On 21 May 2025, a brutal group assault occurred inside the courtyard of a residential complex in Eastgardens, Sydney. A Chinese-Australian woman and her husband were violently attacked by a group of seven teenagers.

According to NSW Police, two 12-year-old girls were arrested and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company and affray. Yet both were quickly released on bail, despite the seriousness of the attack. Due to their age, the maximum punishment they may face is limited youth detention, if any.

This was not an isolated incident. In the days before the assault, several other Asian individuals were reportedly harassed by the same or similar teens in nearby Green Square — including acts of spitting, mocking, and intimidation. Many more Chinese victims have shared similar experiences on social platforms such as Xiaohongshu (RED), revealing a concerning pattern of racially targeted violence.

These teenagers act with impunity because the law is not acting as a deterrent.

**We call on the NSW Government to urgently reform youth criminal justice laws.**

Our key requests are:
1. Lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 10 for serious violent crimes.
2. Introduce mandatory minimum penalties for teen group assault and racially motivated violence.
3. Deny bail to repeat violent youth offenders.
4. Permit media and public access to limited information in serious youth violence cases.
5. Establish a formal reporting channel for racially motivated attacks against minorities.

We believe in rehabilitation — but we also believe in accountability. Justice should not depend on the age of the perpetrator, but the harm caused to the innocent.

Please sign and share this petition to help protect our communities.