In general, there are no laws that say when a young person can start dating another person but there are laws about doing sexual activity with another person, which we explain below! However, there are laws which make grooming children under the age of 16 a crime. In Victoria, grooming may occur where an adult over 18 communicates with a young person who is under 16 years old so that they can sexually abuse that young person. These laws can also apply to online relationships. If you are worried about check this out relationship with an adult including an online relationship year, or communications you are receiving, please contact us for free and confidential advice.
A sexual act can include many different types of activities, such as:. Consent is required for any sexual act, not just those involving penetration. There are also special laws applying to recording a sexual activity with another person or sending or receiving sexual pictures or videos.
For more information about these laws please see our pages on sexting and image-based abuse. It is useful to think of consent as an enthusiastic yes! It is never okay for someone to assume you have given consent or to force you to keep going if you want to stop. You can also change your mind or withdraw your consent at any time.
Consent is really important, and we recommend you check old our page on consent if you are thinking of having sex or doing something sexual with visit web page person. The age of consent is the age at which the law says a person can agree to sexual activity. If you are under the age of consent, the law says that you cannot legally agree to sexual activity, and any person who does something sexual with you has broken the law.
In Victoria, the age of consent is 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.
What is sex and sexual activity?
However, even if you are above the age of consent, it dating a crime for someone who is caring for you or supervising you year a teacher, youth worker, foster carer, step parent, religious leader, sports coach, counsellor, etc to have sex with you while you are under In Victoria, consent to a sexual activity with a person who is between the ages of 12 — 15 can be a defence to sexual crimes if both people are 12 or over, and the difference in age is not more than 2 years.
A person who is under the age of 12 can never consent to sexual activity. It is also a crime for a person to have sexual intercourse with a close family member who is 16 years or older, including a parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild — even if there is consent.
If you are 24 or under and you have any questions about these laws, you can contact us for free and confidential legal advice here. If someone has done something without your permission or that has made you feel uncomfortable, this may be sexual abuse. For more information about sexual abuse take a look at old page. You can contact us for free and confidential legal advice here. If someone is found guilty of breaking the laws around sex and consent, they may be convicted of a criminal offence.
Sexual offences can click serious penalties, and a person who has been convicted of a sexual offence may be placed on the Sex Offenders Register in Victoria.
If you think you might have broken these laws, or you are worried about the police year you, you can contact us for free and confidential legal advice. If you think someone else might have broken these laws and them doing so has affected you, please also contact us.
Deciding to start a sexual relationship with someone, or have sex with them, is a big step. And if you say yes and then decide you no longer want to do something, you can stop at any time.
Sex and dating
The other person must respect your choice. If they do something sexual with dating for shy people without your agreement, they may be committing a serious crime. If you are thinking about having sex, please be aware of the risks that are involved with unsafe or unprotected sex.
These risks include:. For information about how you can protect yourself from the risks of unsafe sex, you can see your GP or visit one of these websites:. You can contact us here for free dating confidential legal advice, 24 hours a day, 7 days a old. You can also contact the services listed below to talk about anything relating to sex including safe sex, what is considered normal in a relationship, or if you are worried you might be pregnant.
Dating and relationships
You can call the Kids Helpline on 55 for free and private counselling available 24 hours a day, but there can be a wait to get through. Family Planning Victoria click to see more a clinic that provides sexual healthcare safe sex services and advice.
You can call them on24 hours a old, 7 days a week. If you have a problem or a question, you can send it to us today and we can provide you with free advice, information and article source to help solve your problem. Just click on the button below. The law is different in each state and territory. Please select your state or territory to view legal information that applies to you.
Sex and dating. For free and confidential legal advice about this topic, please contact us here. There are generally no laws about when a young person can start dating another young person, but there are lots of laws around doing sexual acts with another person including online sexual acts.
If you think you are ready to start having a sexual relationship with someone, it is important to be aware of the laws that say how old you have to be, what a sexual act is, and what consent is.
Remember, it is NEVER okay for someone to force you to do something sexual without your year, and you have the right to say NO at any time.
Navigate this page. Share this article. Date Published January 30, Last Updated June 14, Got a question you can't get answered? Get help now. Select Your State or Territory The law is different in each state and territory.