The House of Lords' decision of Gillick was delivered in 1985. The Court held that children who are under 16 years, but have the intelligence and understanding to be competent to give consent to a particular treatment, may give consent for themselves.
The Gillick case holds that a child's capacity increases as they approach maturity or in other words, the authority of a parent decreases as their child's capacity increases. The significance of the proposed treatment will be a relevant factor in assessing whether a Minor has capacity to consent.
'Gillick competence' and the 'mature minor'
The legal test used to determine if a child is capable of giving consent is when he or she “achieves a sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable him or her to understand fully what is proposed”. This is referred to as 'Gillick competent' or a 'mature minor'.
Generally, a child under the age of 18 years is assessed as being a 'mature minor' if they fully comprehend the nature, consequences and risks of the proposed action, irrespective of the presence or absence of parental consent.
It is also what's called the Gillick principle. This means that doctors and medical professionals need to consider how able you are to understand the situation and to make decisions. At any age, they should take your views into account.
A child younger than 14 may be competent to consent to treatment . Conversely, a child aged 16 or over may lack competence . Health practitioners need to make an assessment of competency to consent for all young people aged under 18 years (or 16 years in South Australia) .
The Capacity Assessment for Mental Health Treatment (Gillick Competence) Child and Youth form is only intended to assist in establishing whether the child or young person has capacity to make decisions related to mental health treatment and care.
Children under 18 cannot legally refuse to see a parent following divorce or separation. Children under 18 will be bound to the co-parenting arrangements made by their parents, set out in Consent Orders, and endorsed by the courts.
If you are 16 years old and above, you can legally have sex (or do another sexual activity) with another person who is 16 years or older as long as you both agree to it.
In legal terms, it is referred to as a defence of infancy. All states and self-governing territories of Australia have adopted 10 years of age as a uniform age of criminal responsibility. As of October 2022, some jurisdictions have made moves towards raising the age to 12 or 14.
Gillick competency applies mainly to medical advice but it is also used by practitioners in other settings. For example, if a child or young person: would like to have therapeutic support but doesn't want their parents or carers to know about it. is seeking confidential support for substance misuse.
When can I get contraception? There is no age limit preventing you from buying contraception like condoms at a chemist, or from seeing a doctor about contraception without parental consent. Certain medical contraceptives, such as contraceptive pills, require a prescription that you can only get from a doctor.
No. Youth of any age in both foster care and the juvenile justice system have the right to make their own decisions about whether or not to use birth control. If they choose to use birth control, they also have the right to choose what kind of birth control to use.
For a child to be Gillick competent, he or she must have “sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable him or her to understand fully what is proposed”. It's assessed on a case by case basis, depending on the type of medical treatment proposed.
Unless a court has deemed a child Gillick competent, or specified that only one parent – and not the other – is responsible for health decisions, the default position is that both parents have an equal right to make decisions about their child's treatment.
It is a very serious offence to engage in sexual activity with anyone under 16 years of age, even if you are in a relationship and they agree, as the law says that they cannot consent. It is still illegal if you are both under 16 years of age.
The lowest age of consent is 9 years for Maldives and 12 years for Angola, Mexico, Philippines, South Sudan and Sudan, which is the minimum age in the world. The age of consent in the United States varies from 16 to 18.
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.
Talk to your child about why they don't want to go
Try to get to the bottom of why your child doesn't want to spend time or stay with your co-parent. Let your child express their feelings to you without judgment. When it's your turn to respond, do so with kindness and understanding.
In Australia, the courts strive to achieve 'equal shared parental responsibility', which refers to both parents making decisions about their children's future. Having this shared responsibility in mind is important when thinking about the mother vs father custody statistics in Australia.
There is no set age in Australia and it is a factor to be considered.
If a child or young person is assessed as Gillick competent, they can make their own medical decisions and doctors are not required to notify a parent or carer, however, the parent or carer may be aware of the situation and be providing support to the child.
Yes. There is no reason why you can't ask to see the doctor by yourself. They might want to find out why and might encourage you to tell your parent or carer. But they should try to understand how you feel if you don't want to.
Gillick competence in children
The doctor has to assess and come to a judgement that the minor who is aged 14 or above has sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable him to understand the proposed procedure and its consequences. If so, the minor's consent can be accepted as valid.