Turning 18 is often regarded as a milestone for young Australians.
The age when children are considered adults by law is associated with a range of new rights and responsibilities — from being able to vote, to drinking alcohol.
But some legal ages — such as the age of criminal responsibility — come much sooner. Experts and youth advocates argue there is a “degree of contradiction” when it comes to some social and legal areas across the country.
“We don’t have mechanisms that I think adequately protect children and ensure that they’re growing up in environments where their health and wellbeing and safety are prioritised,” Dr Susan Baidawi, an associate professor in social work at Monash University, told SBS News.
“Yet we’re really keen at a national level to be able to hold them accountable for their own behaviour, which I find an alarming contradiction.”
Baidawi is among those concerned that goes against a “mountain” of evidence, following comments from the NT’s incoming Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro this week.
What does it mean to be 18 in Australia?
Adulthood is a legally defined entity related to a person’s age and the legal responsibilities that come with it in Australia.
Kate Richardson is a senior solicitor with Youth Law Australia, a charity that provides legal information and help for young people.
She says of adulthood: “It means that a young person is independent. Once a young person turns 18, parents or guardians no longer have parental responsibility for the young person under the law.”
When a person turns 18, they can buy alcohol in licensed premises. Some laws differ across jurisdictions when it comes to secondary alcohol supply.
They can take part in licensed gambling across all venues, and get married, noting there are some exceptions under the Marriage Act.
Legal entitlements for young people at different ages. Source: SBS News
What can young people do before turning 18?
In practice, Richardson said children have many entitlements and responsibilities under the law before they turn 18. These can differ across jurisdictions.
They can start driving, with the minimum age at which drivers can get a learner licence being 16 in all jurisdictions, except the ACT where it’s 15 years and nine months.
Young people under 18 can usually consent to their own medical treatment, depending on their capacity, and have sex.
The legal age of sexual consent, when someone is deemed legally competent to agree to sexual activity, varies between 16 in most jurisdictions and 17 (in Tasmania and South Australia).
They can also have a job in some states, with the minimum age for working also depending on the state or territory.
In Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland, a young person must be at least 13 years old to start casual or part-time work, such as retail or hospitality. Delivering newspapers or advertising is allowed for those who are 10 or 11.
While other jurisdictions do not have a minimum working age, various rules and restrictions apply, such as working hours and having agreement from a parent or guardian.
Why do some legal ages differ across states and territories?
Some legal ages are determined by legislation, such as getting a driver’s licence or age to consent to sexual activity, Richardson said.
But others are contextual and might depend on the capability of a person, such as consenting to medical treatment.
“The inconsistencies in legislation are generally because the laws are state and territory laws, so each state or territory may have taken a different approach for policy reasons,” she said.
Baidawi said it’s hoped that such a reliance on different jurisdictions making their own decisions is guided by evidence.
“But unfortunately what we often see is it being politically motivated decision making, which doesn’t always align with what the evidence tells us is good for individuals or communities.”
At 10 years old: The minimum age of criminal responsibility
This week, the incoming Northern Territory Country Liberal Party (CLP) government signalled its plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10, following a landslide election victory.
In all Australian states, 10 is the minimum age at which a child can be found guilty of and charged with a criminal offence. In the ACT and the NT, it is currently 12, with the Territory passing laws to raise the age last year.
Speaking on Monday, Finocchiaro said it was: “important to hold people accountable for the crimes they’re committing, but to put them on a better path going forward.”
“That’s why we’re lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10 so that young people can be held accountable and that appropriate consequences for their age are delivered, such as boot camps,” she said.
According to statistics from the Sentencing Council of Victoria, in 2022-23, the NT had the highest rate of youth (people aged 10-17) in detention in the country at 102.4 per 10,000 young people. The lowest rate was Victoria, at 5.7 per 10,000 young people. The NT had 273 youth in detention over that period and Victoria had 364.
Lia Finocchiaro led the Country Liberal Party to a landslide victory in the Northern Territory and has vowed to lower the age of criminal responsibility. Source: AAP / Amanda Parkinson
North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) principal lawyer Jared Sharp this would be a “retrograde step” that would have “devastating implications” for children in the territory.
Baidawai, who has expertise in child welfare and criminal justice, said the move “goes against a mountain of evidence”.
“It goes against the evidence that came out of the Northern Territory’s own commission into the protection and detention of children [in the Northern Territory] and the recommendations that stemmed from that,” she said.
“But more than that, it goes against what the evidence tells us is actually going to make the community safer.”
Victoria has committed to raising the age to 12, and then to 14, by 2027, while Tasmania will raise it from 10 to 14 by 2029. The ACT has initially lifted the age to 12, and will raise it to 14 in 2025.
Youth Law Australia is calling for the minimum age to be increased to 14 across Australia.
The Youth Advocacy Centre (YAC) says youth offending requires a multi-disciplinary approach and that lowering the age “is not an effective response to create long-term community safety”.
It comes as a calls for “significant changes” to how federal, state and territory governments approach child justice and vulnerable children.
Among the recommendations are calls for a federal minister for children, a National Children’s Act, and a national taskforce for reform of child justice.
‘Inconsistent’ treatment of young people
Several experts have pointed to inconsistencies around legal entitlements afforded to young people.
“I think there are clear parallels you can see that in society, we say that in relation to driving a car or consuming alcohol that it’s only when children reach a level of maturity … that they can be entrusted with those privileges in our society,” Sharp said.
“And yet we have this obscene idea that children who are 10 years of age can be the subject of criminal charges.”
Luke Roberts from the YAC agreed, saying it is: “inconsistent with how we treat young people”.
“We’re holding them criminally responsible, potentially even sooner than when they’re getting employed,” he said.
For Baidawi, the most alarming example is laws around physical punishment — which is the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience “pain or discomfort to correct or punish a children’s behaviour”.
In Australia, this remains legally defensible in certain contexts under common law and in laws in some states and territories.
There is strong evidence to suggest that physical punishment harms children, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS). It says there is an “incomplete picture” of its use in Australia.
“What we say is that it’s okay for me to effectively, as a parent or guardian, assault a 10-year-old child. However, if that child engages in the exact same behaviour, the state could hold them criminally responsible,” Baidawi said.
In a statement to SBS News, Youth Law Australia said all legal ages “are essentially choices that governments have made”.
“Unless these decisions are grounded in evidence and human rights frameworks, they are arbitrary, hence the lack of conformity of legal ages across Australia.
“The minimum age of criminal responsibility set at 10 is the most arbitrary and least sensible of all, and has significant impacts on vulnerable children and young people.”
