Subscribe Sign in

Courts

We answer what young people want to know about the law

ABC News
5 min read Rewritten in plain language

Justice SystemLawsYoung PeopleCrime

Changed after publishing · 1 edit
  • the headline was changed: We answer what young people want to know about the law

Outlets edit stories after they go out, usually without saying so. We keep what we saw the first time.

Show what we removed
  • Young people sometimes make decisions that can get them in trouble with the law; maybe you have experienced that yourself.
  • BTN High has asked lawyer Guglielmo Plain, who specialises in working with young people at the Uniting Communities Law Centre, to break down some of the big legal issues on the minds of young Australians.
  • Beyond those ages, but before 18, there are a few caveats.
  • Mr Plain says it's also important to remember that working-with-children checks, and any cases that go through court, will always be on record.
  • Mr Plain says posting or sharing videos of fights or crimes on social media often gets young people in trouble.

5 sentences from our version of the report, chosen to cover it. Nothing here is written; every line is in the article below. How

Headline check

There is nothing in this headline a machine can check against the report: no figure, no name and no quotation.

Nothing was measured here, so nothing is claimed. How this is checked

Read the full reportHide the full report5 min

Young people sometimes make decisions that can get them in trouble with the law; maybe you have experienced that yourself.

However, the law can seem like a maze of grey areas, not only to young people.

For parents and guardians, there are also many instances where you may find yourself crossing a legal line without even knowing it.

BTN High has asked lawyer Guglielmo Plain, who specialises in working with young people at the Uniting Communities Law Centre, to break down some of the big legal issues on the minds of young Australians.

Mr Plain says it's a common misconception that a person's criminal history disappears when they turn 18.

"The reality is a lot more complicated," he says.

"Firstly, if you're under the age of 10 or 12, depending on from state to state, then it may be that you can't be charged with a criminal offence."

The minimum age of criminal responsibility is:

Beyond those ages, but before 18, there are a few caveats.

"Firstly, how serious the offence was. So, if the offence was not very serious or it was a one-off, there is a chance that it's not going to appear on your criminal history," Mr Plain says.

"However, if the offending was much more serious or there's lots of offending over a period of time, then the courts can decide to record those offences.

"And then finally, if the offence is very, very, very serious and it leads to a long period in custody, like youth detention, then it could stay on your record for the rest of your life."

Mr Plain says it's also important to remember that working-with-children checks, and any cases that go through court, will always be on record.

"So in summary, don't offend. That's the best advice I can give you. But the law does take into account that kids do stuff, and they try not to ruin a kid's life for the rest of their life because they've done something."

Mr Plain says there are two sides to this question: a legal side and a practical side.

"The general answer is yes, because parents have broadly the right and responsibility to keep children safe. But what that kind of surveillance looks like when you're 12 or when you're 17 is going to be different.

"It's worth remembering that parents are people like anybody else, so that means they could be charged with things like stalking, harassing, and in some states there's legislation around coercive control."

Mr Plain says if a parent is causing serious mental harm or distress by doing things like constantly tracking, harassing or checking phones inappropriately, that could be moving into an illegal space.

"And certainly, if there are family law issues where, for example, a parent is using information that they've taken from your phone towards another parent where they're divorced and stuff like that, it could be a really serious problem as well."

If you're unsure where the legal lines are, Mr Plain says it's important to contact a lawyer, child protection agency, school counsellor or an organisation such as 1800RESPECT.

"They might be able to give you a bit of a reality check about whether the stuff that your parents are doing is just good parenting, but might be annoying, versus something that is actually not OK."

In cases like this, there is a concept called joint criminal enterprise, which means that courts will charge groups of people collectively with the same thing. Where there may be differences is in sentencing, Mr Plain says.

"In other words, in what comes out at the end in terms of whether you go to jail or you get a family conference or whatever, depending on what each person has done," he says.

"My advice is if you are hanging out with a group of people that are doing something that you reckon is illegal, the best way for you to avoid getting into any sort of trouble is to actively move away from that situation, actively try and discourage them, or if they're not being discouraged, just walk the other way."

Mr Plain says he has represented clients who had charges against them dropped after CCTV evidence showed them walking away from a group incident.

"Generally, try and move away. That's the best answer I can give."

There are a few laws that commonly get misunderstood. Mr Plain says posting or sharing videos of fights or crimes on social media often gets young people in trouble.

While it's best not to record offences in the first place, he says if you do, there are a couple of reasons why you shouldn't post it on social media.

"One, it's pretty dumb because you're basically giving all that evidence that police want, handing it over to them on a silver platter, ready for them to prosecute you or anybody else who's involved," he says.

"Secondly, in a lot of states there's what's called post-and-boast laws where you can get charged with an offence separately because you posted something about a criminal offence, especially if you're posting it in a way that sort of makes it look like it's cool or great or awesome or whatever.

"So even if you weren't involved, even if it was somebody else's content and you repost that, in some states that can get you into trouble."

Mr Plain says sexual consent is another area where young people can get into serious trouble. The age of consent in each state and territory is:

"What you need to keep in mind is just because you're both under that age, you're not actually able to consent. Therefore, potentially you could both get into trouble for it," he says.

While it isn't common for police to charge in those cases, Mr Plain says if parents get involved, or one of the partners gets upset, it can become a legal issue quickly.

Then, there is the issue of pictures.

"If you're distributing nudes and you're under the age of 18, that's technically distributing child pornography.

"All around, sending nudes of people who are not 18 is a really terrible idea, and probably even of people who are 18 is probably not a fantastic idea either."

It's important to remember that laws differ in every state and territory, and Mr Plain says it's best to contact a lawyer within your state or territory to get the best advice.

If cost is an issue, Mr Plain says there are plenty of free options no matter where you are in Australia, such as community legal centres.

"Basically, if you are getting in trouble with police, if anything's happening and you think, 'I don't know what my rights are here', it's best to get in touch with a lawyer sooner rather than later and have a pretty frank conversation with them about what your issue is."

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is ABC News's report with its verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

How this outlet filed it, and how we rewrote it

No other newsroom we read has filed on this event, so there is nothing to compare it with yet.

Outlet Niral ScoreAdjectivesSourcingSentimentGenderHappiness
ABC Newsas they published this story 9.8 10 82 -0.1 5.3 52
Mundane Readneutralized from ABC News 8 9 82 -0.1 5.3 52

Sign in to react.

This story is about a matter before the courts. Comments are closed on those, because what is written under them can prejudice a trial or damage somebody who has been charged with nothing. If something here is wrong, tell us — that we do read.