In Australia, you're considered to be an adult when you turn 18 years old. But for certain things, the legal age can be younger. The information in this article is general in nature, and laws differ from state to state.
This means a person who engages in sexual activity with a child under that age can be found guilty of a sexual offence regardless of whether the child gave express or implied consent to the conduct. The age of consent is generally 16 years in New South Wales, but there are important exceptions.
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.
Section 13 of the Care and Protection of Children Act 2007 (NT) defines a child as a person less than 18 years of age, or a person apparently less than 18 years of age if the person's age cannot be proved.
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!) However, there are laws which make grooming children under the age of 16 a crime.
There is no law that says what age you can leave home.
You can leave home at any age providing you have a safe place to go to. If you leave home and are considered to be in physical or moral danger then the Police or Department of Child Protection & Family Services may become involved.
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.
In New South Wales, a person can legally consent to sexual activity once they are 16 years of age. A person who is under 16 years of age cannot lawfully consent to sexual activity, whether it be kissing, touching or sexual intercourse.
Sure as long as they aren't doing anything sexual. 15 is below the age of consent in most places (unless they happen to be in Japan) and is not a legal adult age anywhere, but it's only a two year age difference, so if it's consensual and there's nothing sexual going on, then go for it.
If the sex is consensual (and it must be enthusiastic consent) and the other party is also aged 16 years or over it is not against the law, although there are some exceptions: If the person is very drunk or under the influence of drugs, they may not have the capacity to consent so having sex with them is an offence.
While in many circumstances it is perfectly legal for an adult to have consensual sexual contact or intercourse with a 16-year-old, there are some circumstances where it is not. Most often, it comes down to the nature of the relationship between the two individuals.
It is an offence in the Australian Capital Territory to have sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16. However, it is a defence if the younger party was aged 10 years or older and the offender was not more than 2 years older than the younger party.
In New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory the age of consent is 16 years old. In South Australia and Tasmania, the age of consent is 17 years old.
Section 11 of the Children and Young People Act 2008 (ACT) defines a child as a person who is under 12 years old, and section 12 defines a young person as a person who is 12 years old or older but not yet an adult.
Kids between 8 and 12 are called “tweens” because they are in between children and teenagers. It's very normal for kids this age to start to move from being very close to parents to wanting to be more independent. But they still need a lot of help from their parents. Kids this age go through big physical changes.
There are no laws about age differences with dating someone. It's only illegal to have any sexual relations with someone. But dating someone who is 3 years older than you is legal.
The purpose of statutory rape laws is to help prevent teenage pregnancies. Generally speaking, an 18-year-old can date a 16-year-old provided that the relationship is not sexual. If the relationship becomes sexual, then it could be illegal depending on the state.
It is generally legal for an 18-year-old to date a 17-year-old. But the relationship cannot be sexual. It's illegal to have sexual relations with a 17-year-old if you're 18. There are only 6 states where a 17-year-old can consent to sex with an 18-year-old (see below).
Sexual consent
In most Australian states and territories, the age at which you can legally consent to have sex is 16 years. The exceptions to this are South Australia and Tasmania, where it's 17 years. When someone has sex with a person under the age of consent, they might have committed a serious offence.
Age of criminal responsibility
In Australia, children under the age of 10 years cannot be charged with a criminal offence. If they are between 10 and 14 years old, the prosecution has to show that they knew what they were doing was seriously wrong for a case to continue.
Currently in Australia, children as young as 10 years old can be arrested, held in police cells, taken before a magistrate and incarcerated in prison-like settings. Most children who are incarcerated are never convicted of a crime.
In Australia, it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of age, so technically there's no age minimum on renting and a tenant can sign a lease at 17 or even younger, but there are nuances in each state and territory.
There's no one law in Australia that says how old children must be before you can leave them home alone. Even if your child is OK to be home alone, you're still legally responsible for their safety and care.
Many people have agreed that 25-26 years old is an appropriate age for an adult to move out of their parent's house. But to be honest, there's no perfect age for you to do it.