Up to 3 Years Jail for Sharing Material That Humiliates Victims or Glorifies Crime
Criminal Code Amendment (Post and Boast Offence) Bill 2025
Legislative Council
Legislative Assembly
Assent
Topics
content removal criminal justice criminal penalties digital content digital safety material dissemination online content online safety public safety victim rights
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
People face up to 3 years in prison for sharing material that shows a crime if the material is likely to humiliate a victim, be offensive, or glorify the crime, including material that boasts about or encourages certain crimes.
A person is not guilty if they shared the material for genuine scientific, educational, artistic, or news purposes, to warn others, or if it is in the public interest.
Police, intelligence officers, and people working in the justice system are not liable for this offence if they act in good faith as part of their official duties.
Courts can order a person charged with this offence to delete, remove, destroy, or hand over the material, even if the person is not convicted.
People who fail to follow a court order to remove or destroy the material face up to 12 months in prison and a $12,000 fine, which includes a $200 daily penalty for adults.
Prosecutions for these offences can start at any time.
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Dan Caddy ALP
“The community does not tolerate the conduct I have just described. Not only is the depicted conduct dangerous and unlawful, but there is no way such conduct should be shared, posted or published for others to see or copy, or for victims to have to relive such trauma. Because of the cases I have described, steps have been taken around the country to stamp this out.”