Young people sometimes make decisions that can get them in trouble with the law; maybe you have experienced that yourself.
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you → make → that
However, the law can seem like a maze of grey areas, not only to young people.
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law → seem → people
For parents and guardians, there are also many instances where you may find yourself crossing a legal line without even knowing it.
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yourself → be → 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.
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who → ask → Australians
If I commit a crime when I'm under 18, will I have a criminal record for the rest of my life?
– Akunsha, 12
Mr Plain says it's a common misconception that a person's criminal history disappears when they turn 18.
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they → commit → 18
"The reality is a lot more complicated," he says.
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he → say → ?
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.
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you → depend → offence
The minimum age of criminal responsibility is:
- Australian Capital Territory – under 14
- New South Wales – under 10
- Northern Territory – under 10
- Queensland – under 10
- South Australia – under 10
- Tasmania – under 10
- Victoria – under 12
- Western Australia – under 10
Beyond those ages, but before 18, there are a few caveats.
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Victoria → be → 18
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.
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Plain → be → history
"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.
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courts → be → 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."
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it → lead → 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.
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that → say → record
That's the best advice I can give you.
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I → 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.
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they → take → something
"
Can my parents legally look through my phone whenever they want?
– Nithum, 13
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they → look → phone
Mr Plain says there are two sides to this question: a legal side and a practical side.
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Plain → say → question
"The general answer is yes, because parents have broadly the right and responsibility to keep children safe.
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parents → have → children
But what that kind of surveillance looks like when you're 12 or when you're 17 is going to be very different.
"
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you → look → surveillance
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."
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they → remember → 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.
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that → say → 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."
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it → be → that
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.
"
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it → say → 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.
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that → give → something
If I'm with my friends while they're breaking the law, even if I don't do anything, will I still get in trouble for it?
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I → break → it
In cases like this, there is a concept called joint criminal enterprise, which basically means that courts will charge groups of people collectively with the same thing.
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courts → be → thing
Where there may be differences is in sentencing, Mr Plain says.
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Plain → say → sentencing
"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.
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he → come → what
"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."
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they → hang → them
Mr Plain says he has represented clients who had charges against them completely dropped after CCTV evidence showed them simply walking away from a group incident.
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them → say → incident
That's the best answer I can give."
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I → give → ?
What are some laws teenagers misunderstand?
– Riley, 15
There are quite a few laws that commonly get misunderstood.
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that → misunderstand → ?
Mr Plain says posting or sharing videos of fights or crimes on social media often gets young people in trouble.
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posting → say → 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.
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you → record → 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.
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he → give → you
"Secondly, in a lot of states there's what's called post-and-boast laws where basically 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.
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it → be → way
"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."
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that → involve → trouble
Mr Plain says sexual consent is another area where young people can get into serious trouble.
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people → say → trouble
"What you need to keep in mind is just because you're both under that age, you're not actually able to consent.
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you → need → age
Therefore, potentially you could both get into trouble for it," he says.
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he → get → it
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 very quickly.
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it → charge → partners
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia