The Legal Age to Leave School

There are different kinds of law. The legal age to leave school is classified as a statute law. Statute law is written law. Common law is basic law, e.g. it is illegal to murder a person. Another kind of law is tribal/customary law which is still in place amongst Aboriginal tribes in Australia. The Law under which the Australian government operates is called The Constitution. To change the constitution a national vote needs to be conducted which is called a referendum. In the referendum, 50% of Australia needs to vote ‘yes’ for the change to the constitution to be successful. In the first reading of the bill, the member of the parliament who has written the bill introduces it to the parliament. At the First Reading, only the title of the bill is read out loud. Copies of the bill are also given to each of the Members of Parliament to read. If the parliaments want to change or introduce a statute law, a bill needs to be drafted, which is a proposal for a new law or to change an existing law.

Laws are changed all the time to improve access to justice. This helps the government cater for the changing society. One of the laws that were changed in the past 10 years was the legal age to leave school. In May 2009, a new law was passed by the Parliament of NSW stating that all students must remain at school until the age of 17. All students in NSW must complete year 10. After that until the age of 17, they should either be in school or be registered for home schooling, be in approved education or training (TAFE, apprenticeship etc.), be in full time paid employment (25hrs/week) or in a combination of the three options.

The Legal Age To Leave School

At the Second Reading, the member who introduced the Bill explains the reasons for and purposes of the purposed law. At this stage members of the House can ask questions and ask for further explanations. At this stage, Amendments can also be proposed; in this case the house can go into a ‘committee stage’, where details...