a young person over the age of 16 years can be held in a prison for adults, but cannot share living quarters with an adult (section 7) sections 50, 50A and 50B provide for different sentencing options for a young person aged under 17, aged 17 but not yet 18, and aged over 18 or over at the time of sentence.
You are criminally responsible at age 10. This means that if you commit an offence from this age, you can be charged and, depending on the seriousness, you can get a sentence of detention. Juvenile detention in Western Australia is served at Banksia Hill Detention Centre in Canning Vale.
About legal age in Australia
As your child grows up and becomes more independent, you might be wondering how old they need to be before they can do certain things. In Australia, you're considered to be an adult when you turn 18 years old.
What is the age of criminal responsibility? The age of criminal responsibility is the age in which a child is considered by law to have understood that their actions were wrong and can face criminal charges. All Australian states and territories have this age set at only 10 years old.
Does Your Criminal Record Get Wiped at 18 in Australia? No, however if you have not committed a crime considered to be serious under the Spent Convictions Scheme or you have spent 5 years without re-offending, then your crime will no longer be on your record.
There is no minimum age for criminal responsibility. Children below age 14 can only face incarceration if they are proven to have enough discernment between right and wrong. Incarceration starting at age 14.
You are now in control of your life. The law says you are an adult and you don't need your parents' permission to do anything. You can: be taken to the adult courts if you break the law.
change their name without their parent's consent. buy alcohol, tobacco and cigarettes. get married without their parent's permission. vote in elections and stand for Parliament.
In Australia, most people stay with their parents until they are at least 18 years old and your parents will remain your legal guardians until then. For more information about when you can legally leave home visit the Youth Law Australia website.
It is an offence for someone in a position of authority over a young person to have sex or engage in any sexual behaviour with that young person unless the young person is over 18 years of age.
In Australia, the twelfth grade is referred to as Year 12. In New South Wales, students are usually 16 or 17 years old when they enter Year 12 and 17 or 18 years during graduation (end of year).
Dating and relationships
In general, there are no laws that say when a young person can start dating another person (but there are laws about doing sexual activity with another person, which we explain below!)
The current state of legislation in Australia
Currently in Australia, the Commonwealth and all states and territories set the minimum age of criminal responsibility at ten.
Once you turn 16, you won't normally be forced to return home by the authorities as long as you've got a safe place to go and you can financially support yourself. If you're under 18 and leave home, the police and Child Safety may investigate the reasons why you left home.
Children aged 10 and 11 will not be held criminally responsible for their actions in Victoria by the end of next year. But the Andrews government will wait until 2027 to raise the age of responsibility to 14 – as demanded by Indigenous, legal and medical groups.
For example, if a person is 17 and has sex with someone who is 15, it is not a crime. But if the person was 18, it is a crime unless the person believed the person was 16 or older. For more information about what is considered a sexual act, see Sexual assault.
Many 17-year-olds form strong relationships. They develop close friendships and become less likely to move back and forth between cliques. They also discover that it's important to be dependable. When they make a promise to their friends, they want to honor their commitments.
To get Youth Allowance as a student or an Australian Apprentice you must be one of the following: 18 to 24 and studying full time. 16 to 24 and doing a full time Australian Apprenticeship. 16 to 17 and independent or needing to live away from home to study.
If you are under 18 the police must not formally question you unless your parents or guardian are there – unless you don't want them there. If your parents or guardian are not available, the police must arrange for an independent person to be with you during questioning.
In Australia, there is no minimum age which a child can legally refuse to see a parent following divorce or separation. Of course, once children of divorce reach the age of 18 years they can make their own decisions about where they live or which parent they want to spend time with.
Teenagers (15-17 years of age)
While an adult is usually a person over 18 (or in some cases, over 21), juvenile refers to persons under the age of 18 years. Therefore, 'juvenile' and 'minor' are two different terms, an important detail in criminal cases. Some cases deal with 'adults' and 'minors,' and others deal with 'juveniles' and 'adults.
' We note that Attorneys agreed in 2021 to work towards raising the age of criminal responsibility to 12. The evidence is clear from this report that all governments should be working towards raising the age to 14.