Legal+Matters

Use the website [|www.lawstuff.org.au] to help you provide advice or answers to the following problems:
1. //Shelly's mobile phone was her absolute pride and joy. She has been very upset since it was lost or stolen at a party on Friday night. She has only had the mobile since her 15th birthday in July. Her parents signed her up for a 24 month contract. The company has refused to cancel the contract and expects Shelly (or her parents) to pay-out the remainder of the contract. **Can she avoid paying?**//

No, because it was a binding contract and if you don't pay you are breaching the contract so you should of read the contract before buying.**by:tim**

No, Shelly or her parents should have to pay the rest of the money beacuse the have already agreed to pay the money in 24 months and she has agreed to pay it by signing the contract. **By: Abdullah (King of Hall of Fame)** I think that it is Shelly’s parents should have read the contract good and they approved so they have to pay. Adam(adz100)

2. //Zeeta is only 16 years old but looks much older. She desperately wants a tatoo of her boyfriend's face on her shoulder even though her parents' disapprove. **Your advice please.**// //Ask her parents permission first before having a tattoo of her boyfriend’s face on her shoulder.//

If her parents disapprove her getting a tatoo and she is under the age limit it is up to the parents. But when Zeeta is old enough to get a tatoo it is legal that she can have one if she still wants one. By Mia She should try to get the parents on her side and wait until she is 18 before getting a tattoo because by the law you have to be at least 18 before getting a tattoo. Adam(adz100)

3. //Roberto's Uncle Sal gave him $20 and sent him to the corner shop to buy a packet of cigarettes. Roberto is only 11 years old and because the shopkeeper knows him and his uncle well he sells him the cigarettes. A policeman greets Roberto as he leaves the store holding the cigarettes.// **//Who will be prosecuted and why?//** //**The shopkeeper would be prosecuted because even if he knows Roberto and his uncle very well he should obey the law and not sell Roberto the packet of cigarettes because the law says he is not allowed to sell cigarettes to people under the age of 18. Amina**//

4. //Shamlina and her parents fled from the Taliban in Afganistan and have now settled in Australia as refugees. In Afganistan more than 50 percent of young girls are married before they are 16 years old. This is the custom and Shamlina's parents have promised her in marriage to her 38 year old second cousin even though she is only 10 years old. Plans are being made for Shamlina to marry him on her 11th Birthday.// //**Will this marriage be recognised in Australia?**// No, Australia will not recognise the marriage because you have to be over 18 or get parents if your 16 or 17. So she has to wait till she is 16 and get permission from parents. By: Tim

5. //Francis Henry Wallace Bertrand Godfrey Jones Jnr has just finished Year 10. He has never liked his long name and wants to change it simply to Jason Jones. **Can he do this and what is required?**//
 * 5. //Francis Henry Wallace Bertrand Godfrey Jones Jnr has just finished Year 10. He has never liked his long name and wants to change it simply to Jason Jones.//** //Can he do this and what is required?//
 * //Francis can change his name easily by making friends and family call him Jason Jones. If Francis is under 18 he can still change his name but needs his parents or legal guardian to apply to the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages on his behalf.//** **//Both his parents must apply and sign the papers unless one of them has passed away.//** Amina


 * Ø** **Only one parent is named on your birth certificate; OR**
 * Ø** **One of your parent’s has died; OR**
 * Ø** **You are under the care of a guardian; OR**
 * Ø** **The County Court approves an application to change your name, even though it is made by only one parent, because this is in your best interests.**
 * BY ALEX KRINCEVSK**

6. //Penelope Preston is a worried 15 year old who has just found out from her GP that she is pregnant. **What options does she have?**// 6. //Penelope Preston is a worried 15 year old who has just found out from her GP that she is pregnant. **What options does she have?**//
 * //She can speak to centrelink that she wants the baby and go regularly medical check up throughout her pregnancy or she can decide whether or not she can either bring it up for adoption.//**

If you are under 16, no-one is allowed to have sex with you.

Even if you agree to have sex with someone, it is still against the law for that person to have sex with you. They can be charged with a criminal offence. jamie
 * If you are under 16, no-one is allowed to have sex with you. BY ALEX KRINCEVSKI**