Leaving home

Hey K-S,

Hey Oliver, welcome to Reach Out.

I need help. I am 16, dependant child living at home, which we own, and have a youth allowance. I have seached EVERYWHERE on the web for legal advice on paying board. Currently I am paying well over half of my youth allowance to my parents, leaving me with a meesly sum of $30 a fortnight. With this they expect me to pay for ALL my school books and compulsory year 12 camps, which I simply cannot do!
On top of this, my parent have my back account details to check up on my spending/saving and deem themselves worthy to change the amount I'm paying whenever they want to!
PLEASE HELP ME!
WHAT CAN I DO?!

Hi I am 15 years old and I have a mental illness. My parents divorced when I was 11 through a very costly court case at the Sydney Family Court. Which resulted in me not being allowed to have any contact with my father. I am always arguing with my mum. She has told me that I should either change my attitude or leave.
I can't go and stay with my Dad because he lives in Sydney and I live in the outback, I have no one that i could live with but I do have a job. What can I do????

Reply to Treemonkey1995

Hi please contact CREATE Foundation NSW team on toll free number 1800 655 105 or 9267 0977, so we can discuss some options.

I am a foster child who has been returned to my mothers care, but I am still a ward of the state. My mum is a former drug addict and has a big problem with control, she has mental buse problems and there are only two things that matter to her that is her self and her reputation with every one she knows. She will not let me have any control over my own life for example I started going to my church youth after attending summercamp in the New Years Holidays of 2011, we had been going to that church for 6 years and mum stopped me going just because I liked going. We haven't even attended a sunday church service in about 2 months and I can't stand it because it was the one thing in my life that made it worth living and she took it away from me. Anyways I want to move out and I have an adult friend down in Eden (South NSW) offering me and my sister a place to stay but its alot more complicated because we are wards of the state living with our biological mother and we really want to move out. Our mother rely's on us alot aswell and we can't help but think about what us leaving could do to her but we need to think of our selves because she is verbally abusive and has confined us to our house and we are not allowed to do anything not even go to church which to me doesnt make any sense! I need help I dont know what to do but what I do know is that we want to leave and we dont know how to prepare ourselves for the worst that could happen...

Oh and I am Brittany on behalf of ReachOut.com crew =)

Hey Reds_Babygirl_6892 - I am not sure of the exact age you can move out in the US but I know once you turn 18 you are legally an adult. I'm sorry that you are having trouble with your parents, it can be hard at that age because you want to be an adult and they might still see you as a child. I know my mom struggled with that when I was that age. Have you sat down and talked to them about how you are feeling? They might not realize they are acting the way they are. I would encourage communication with them and ask them to acknowledge that you are an adult! They may still have rules (my parents still do) but at least you can be on good terms with them.

Wow... Nvm I don't live in Australia, I live in Warren,PA

I'm 17 years old, I'm 8 months away from turning 18. My birthday is June 6th. I want to know how many months before your 18th birthday are you considered old enough to move out of your parents house? Is it two or three months before? I live with my mom and her partner Elaine. They've been together for 12 years... I'm tired of being under Elaine's rules I'm a young adult  now not a child. I have to much conflict with my mom and Elaine about my relationship with my fiance Shane. They let me move out with him this past summer of 2011 for about 2 in a half weeks, I chose to move back with them because my fiance did not have a good money making job to take care of us both at that time. It's now 3 in a half months after I move back that I can not stand them! I want out!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE TELL ME THE ANSWER!!!!!!! :-) So I can plan when to move back in with Shane. He now works at a great paying job and is making a little over $800 a month.

Im 16 and living with my grandparents because my mum was in an abusive relationship and i decided to leave when i was about 11 years old. Im not happy here anymore and i really want to move out. I want to get my own place but im worried about money and what my grandparents and my dad will think. Im on youth allowance and i have a casual job, im still at school. Do you have any tips for me? 

Once you turn sixteen theres no way police can force you to return home unless your in danger for example- no roof over your head, not going to school or not eating.. other wise theres nothing they can do

Once you turn sixteen theres no way police can force you to return home unless your in danger for example- no roof over your head, not going to school or not eating.. other wise theres nothing they can do

Hey Stephles1256,

Hey, well I was trying to find some research on leaving home at 16..  I am wondering if you leave home at 16 can you still go to school if your not living with parents? if anyone can answer this question, thankyou heaps!

steph :)

Hey there Faz_RO

It sounds like you are going through some really tough stuff.  If you are experiencing problems at home I suggest that you call Kids help line on 1800 55 1800.  They are a 100% anonymous and confidential service who will help you work through all of your options.  Kids help line are super friendly and you can call anytime of the night or day free from a land line or pay phone. So why not give them a try?

Another really great person who can help you work through all of your options is your school counsellor.  School counsellors are great because they are trainned to deal with a wide range of issues and can refer you on to services in your local area that will be able to help you.  here is some practical info about going to see your school counsellor and confidetiality: http://au.reachout.com/find/articles/school-counsellors, http://au.reachout.com/find/articles/confidentiality
 
There are heaps of services out there to help young people in your situation. From organisations that can help you work things out at home to organisations that can support you by providing you with accommodation and help you stay in school.  Here is a link to the law stuff page with info how to contact the right organisation for you: http://www.lawstuff.org.au/nsw_law/topics/leaving-home/where-can-i-go-for-help
 
If you are experiencing any kind of abuse you need to tell some one right away.  The police are the best people to go to and they will be able to help you.  Here are some handy fact sheets with heaps of info on abuse and assessing your safety.  These fact sheets have heaps of handy phone numbers for organisations that will be able to help you at the bottom of the page: http://au.reachout.com/find/articles/assessing-your-safety,  http://au.reachout.com/find/articles/child-abuse-how-to-get-support.
 
If you feel that you are in immediate danger of being hurt - please call emergency services on 000 straight away  
 
For more info about the legal side of moving out of home I suggest you check out the "Law Stuff" website, here is the link: http://www.lawstuff.org.au/
 
We promise you are not alone in this you just need to find the right person to listen to you and help you with everything you are going through. 
 
Keep reaching out
Roisin - RO Crew

Well, im wondering the same thing too. Im 14... and i just cant handle my family and surrounding areas. Dont know what im going to do about school exactly if i leave soon but im planning everything out slowly. Still trying to figure out a place to stay if i move out, where to go during the day and how to manage my money. 24 hour shops and markets are good but i might need more help. thanks.

I would like to know this too? If anyone knows whether your parents can drag you back home by force can you tell me because legal advice on the internet is very ambiguous. I would like to move out of home because of conflict with my mother and my brother. Huge conflict. I can't deal with it anymore. I have planned out what I would like to do with my life and I have a place to stay. I just need to know if it is legal to live with a friend without your parents permission but with your friend's mum's permission. ???

I'm 16 and there's no way i can keep living at home. My conflicts with my dad are too much. When i get a job can i live at a friend's house and pay board? And then, what will be done if my parents call the police or come to get me by force?