This chapter considers children’s evolving capacities, particularly during adolescence. The law must value adolescence, while also recognising the risks it may entail. The chapter starts by reviewing some of the extensive body of research on children’s developing capacity for decision-making and explores how it might inform the law on adolescence. The chapter then considers the legal principles governing the relationship between adolescents and their parents. That law is ambivalent both over the extent of parental authority and the circumstances in which mature adolescents should be recognised as having the ability to make decisions over their own lives, regardless of the views of their parents. The chapter concludes by considering the application of these general principles in the fraught context of deprivation of liberty. The law’s confused approach to adolescent decision-making and parental authority leaves adolescents at risk of being deprived of this most important of rights without access to the legal safeguards that protect adults. This area of law is an excellent example of the practical consequences of the law’s ambivalence on adolescent autonomy and the role of parents.

This chapter examines the Australian law governing consent to medical treatment for trans adolescents. This is contextualised first, by critically examining the general principles in respect of consent to medical treatment by and for young people in Australia. The actors involved in consent processes, young people, their parents and courts, are outlined with respect to the scope and limitations on their power. Notably, this includes discussion of the landmark decision of the High Court in Marion’s Case, alongside further cases that developed and applied the legal principles from that case. Significantly, the chapter presents an account of the key Australian case law relating to the treatment of gender dysphoria in adolescence. It will be shown that, while some legal barriers have been removed by case law, those that remain are troubling. It is argued that the Australian case law in this area is incoherent, inconsistent and ultimately fails to achieve its aims to safeguard the health and wellbeing of trans young people and their right to exercise bodily autonomy.

This chapter examines the law in England and Wales governing consent to medical treatment for trans children and adolescents. First, the general legal principles governing consent to children’s medical treatment in England and Wales are detailed. In doing so, the various avenues to consent for children’s medical treatment in England and Wales are laid out. Second, it will be seen that, historically, there has been limited guidance from case law on the situation of trans young people; however, this was altered with the landmark 2020 decision of the High Court in Bell v Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust and subsequent appeal. Key changes to the law in respect of trans youth’s ability to seek medical treatment as a result of these judgements are analysed. Finally, the law is synthesised as to what represent the current legal principles applicable to trans youth seeking medical treatment in England in Wales.