Queensland is the only state where it is a criminal offence to leave a child under the age of 12 unattended for an unreasonable amount of time, raising the question of when it is actually okay to leave a child on their own here in Western Australia.

Press PLAY to hear Tom Percy KC explain the legal realities of leaving children home alone

Tom Percy KC told 6PR Breakfast hosts Millsy and Karl that while he doesn’t agree with blanket mandatory laws, that does not mean leaving children unattended goes unpoliced.

“If you leave the kids alone, you’d face more than criminal sanctions – they could take the kids off you or impose conditions on you, so just because we don’t have a law that says at 12 you can’t leave the kids on their own, it doesn’t mean that it goes unpoliced or that there are no consequences”, Percy said.

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