BTN High 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. Plain said a person’s criminal history doesn’t simply vanish at 18. The rules are messier than that, and the mess is the point. A child can be pulled into the system early, then carry the paperwork, the record, and the consequences long after the state says they’ve grown up.
Who Gets Caught First
Plain said the minimum age of criminal responsibility is under 14 in the Australian Capital Territory, under 10 in New South Wales, under 10 in the Northern Territory, under 10 in Queensland, under 10 in South Australia, under 10 in Tasmania, under 12 in Victoria and under 10 in Western Australia. He said: “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.” That patchwork alone tells the story. A child’s fate shifts depending on which line on the map they happen to live behind.
Beyond those ages, but before 18, Plain said there are caveats. He said the seriousness of the offence matters, and a one-off or less serious matter may not appear on a criminal history. But if the offending is more serious, or if there’s lots of offending over time, the courts can decide to record those offences. He said: “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.” Working-with-children checks and any cases that go through court will always be on record.
Plain said: “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.” Even that mercy comes wrapped in control. The system decides what counts, what stays, and what follows a young person around.
Surveillance at Home, Control Everywhere
On parents looking through a child’s phone, Plain said: “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 very different.” He said parents could be charged with stalking, harassing, and in some states there’s legislation around coercive control. If a parent is causing serious mental harm or distress by constantly tracking, harassing or checking phones inappropriately, that could be moving into an illegal space.
He added: “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.” The family home, in other words, isn’t outside the reach of legal power. It’s another place where surveillance can be normalized until it isn’t.
Plain said people unsure about the legal lines should contact a lawyer, child protection agency, school counsellor or an organisation such as 1800RESPECT. He said: “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.”
Groups, Phones, and the Police Evidence Machine
On being with friends while they break the law, Plain said there is a concept called joint criminal enterprise, which means courts will charge groups of people collectively with the same thing. He said sentencing can differ depending on what each person has done. His advice was blunt: if you’re hanging out with people doing something illegal, move away, discourage them, or walk the other way. He said he has represented clients who had charges completely dropped after CCTV evidence showed them simply walking away from a group incident.
Plain said: “Generally, try and move away. That’s the best answer I can give you.” It’s a small act, but it matters. The camera state loves a group charge. It loves flattening people into a single file of suspicion. Walking away can become the only clean line left.
Posting or sharing videos of fights or crimes on social media also gets young people in trouble, Plain said. He said: “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 added that in a lot of states there are post-and-boast laws, where a person can be charged separately for posting something about a criminal offence, especially if they make it look cool or awesome. Even reposting someone else’s content can get a person into trouble in some states.
Consent, Records, and the Long Shadow
Plain said sexual consent is another area where young people can get into serious trouble. The age of consent is 16 in the Australian Capital Territory, 16 in New South Wales, 16 in the Northern Territory, 16 in Queensland, 17 in South Australia, 17 in Tasmania, 16 in Victoria and 16 in Western Australia. He said: “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.” Police do not commonly charge in those cases, he said, but if parents get involved or one partner gets upset, it can become a legal issue very quickly.
Plain said if you’re distributing nudes and you’re under 18, that’s technically distributing child pornography. He said 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. Laws differ in every state and territory, he said, and people should contact a lawyer within their state or territory for advice. If cost is an issue, he said there are free options such as community legal centres.
Plain said: “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.” That’s the narrow path the system leaves open: ask for help, get advice, try not to get crushed by the machinery. The machinery stays in place.