As a lawyer, I’m commonly asked what the legal age is for a variety of different activities – so, I thought it would be interesting and helpful to summarise just what’s allowed at various stages of childhood and adolescence.

The younger years

At the age of 5, you can be enrolled in state school (although come 2018, families may be able to enrol their child to start school at the beginning of the term closest to their fifth birthday). However, while five is the youngest a child can be enrolled, youngsters don’t actually have to start school until they’re six.

At just 10, you can be charged with murder or manslaughter.

At the age of 12, you can be charged with a raft of other serious criminal offences.

Teen times

When you’re 14, you can be left at home alone, and also babysit a child – so long as you’re capable of providing reasonable supervision and care. You can now be prosecuted for any criminal offence, too.

Turn 15, and you can wave goodbye to school, as long as you have approval from the Ministry of Education.

Reaching your 16th birthday, there is a lot going on. You can sit a driving test and get your learner driver licence. Generally, you can leave home without your parents’ agreement (there are exceptions – if there are serious concerns about your welfare, you can be placed under the guardianship of the court, which will then decide where you can live).

On the flip side of the coin, believe it or not, you can get married or enter a civil union as long as you have your parents’ consent – yes, even though you don’t have to live in the same house as them. Once you get married, though, your parents will no longer be your guardians. In addition, you can agree to, or refuse, medical treatment, and that includes treatment for mental disorders, unless you are under a compulsory treatment order.

You can leave school, entirely of your own volition at 16, and you are also eligible to work full-time. If you decide to stay, just remember 16 is also the legal age at which you can be expelled from the school. You can legally consent to have sex, whether that is with someone of the same sex or of the opposite sex. You can apply for an adult passport, fly a plane solo, apply for a firearm, and you can apply for various state benefits, such as young parent and guaranteed child care assistance payments. Your parents cannot change your name, unless you agree to it.

But wait, there’s more …

At age 17, a few more liberties arrive. On this birthday, you can join the navy, army or air force, if you have your parents’ consent. You can apply to join the New Zealand Police, but you won’t be able to start training at Police College until you are 18.

When it comes to investigations, the police can question you without your parents, or another adult, present, but there are some special police rules for questioning under 18 year olds. The older you get the more serious things get in the criminal court system, and, once you hit 18, you are treated as an adult. If you are charged with a criminal offence, you will appear in the district court or high court, and no longer the youth court.

Your 18th birthday is a well-recognised milestone, and brings with it a plethora of new rights and responsibilities – some more exciting than others. Your parents or legal guardians are no longer responsible for you. You can make a Will (even though some under 18 year olds can make a will in certain circumstances). You can get married or enter a civil union without your parents’ consent. You are no longer entitled to free dental care. You can drink alcohol in a pub or licensed restaurant. You can apply for many different types of income support. You can go off to the bank and apply for a cheque account, credit card and a loan. You can be called upon to do jury service, change your name, place bets at the TAB or race course, buy instant kiwi tickets, vote in national and local election, and even stand as a candidate. You can legally buy alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco or fireworks and can change your name, without needing anyone’s agreement.

You would imagine the main ages which important thing happen is really your 18th birthday, but there are some other ones that come even later.

That’s not everything

At the age of 19, if you are adopted, you can place a veto on information about you so that your birth parents can’t contact you, and that veto will last for 10 years, but can be removed or renewed.

In most places in the world, the legal age of becoming an adult is 18, but in New Zealand the age straddles various birthdays. By 20, you will have the vast majority of rights and responsibilities of an adult. If you are adopted, you can apply to the registrar for births, deaths and marriages and obtain a copy of your birth certificate to find out the names of your birth parents. You can apply to adopt a child who is related to you – for example, a niece, nephew, sister, brother or grandchild. You can gamble or work in a casino, and you can drive with a small amount of alcohol in your system.

At the age of 25, you can apply to adopt a child who is not related to you, so long as that child is at least 20 years younger than you.

However, there are a number of things that have no legal age attached to them. For example, you must always wear a helmet whilst riding a bicycle, motorised scooter or motorcycle, and wear your seatbelt when travelling in a vehicle. Did you know that, up until you are 15 years of age, the driver is responsible for making sure that you have your seatbelt on? Did you also know that, at any age, you can apply for a passport, but, up until you are 16, you will need the consent from your parent or caregiver? You can buy contraceptives, no matter how old you are. You can own land at any age, buy a lotto ticket and join a union.

Want to get inked?

Getting a tattoo is quite a complicated one from a legal point of view. Members of the Tattoo Artist Association New Zealand operate by a code of ethics which says that they won’t tattoo anyone under the age of 18, without the consent of their parent or caregiver. However, some tattoo artists have their own rules about whether they will tattoo a person who is younger than a certain age, regardless of whether the parent or guardian gives consent. In general, if you are under the age of 16, you can get a tattoo, so long as your parent or guardian signs the consent form. In some parts of New Zealand, however, there are local bylaws that have increased the age of consent to 18 years, so it is worth checking with your local council.

It is amazing how often as lawyers we get asked what is the legal age for doing x and y, and just how taken aback people – particularly parents – can be at the answers. I hope I’ve answered at least some of your queries … and that they haven’t come as too much of a shock.

Updated: 3 July, 2019

Relationship & Family Care of Children