Higher Penalties for Hate-Motivated Crimes; New Offence for Luring Victims by False Representations; On-Stage Violence Treated as Real Offence [Hate Crime Laws]
Crimes Legislation Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2026
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Council
Assent
Topics
assault gender identity hate crimes public violence racial discrimination religious discrimination robbery sexual orientation
Introduced by: Michael Daley MP (ALP); The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Damien Tudehope LIB
“I lead for the Opposition in debate on the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2026. At the outset, I must say it would have been helpful to have had the Sackar report for the purposes of educating myself, my colleagues and crossbench members on the content of the bill.”
Robert Borsak SFFP
“The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party rejects violence against people simply because of their race, religion or background. Such hatred has no place in our society, and no decent person should ever support it. If anyone deliberately incites violence against innocent people, they should be held accountable.”
Amanda Cohn GRN
“As The Greens spokesperson for LGBTQIA+ communities, I indicate that we will not oppose the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2026. Every person in New South Wales deserves to be safe and to feel safe. Last year The Greens opposed the Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill 2025 on the basis that the change to the laws was reactionary and prioritised one group over another.”
Sue Higginson GRN
“I express concern with the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2026, which is before the House. I echo all the comments of my colleague Dr Amanda Cohn and reiterate her concern that we are being asked to legislate yet more criminal laws without the release of the Sackar review, which has been compelled by the House and which is being kept secret by the Minns Labor Government.”
“The Legalise Cannabis Party will support the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2026. We thank the Government for bringing it before the House. This bill is about something very simple: Nobody in New South Wales should be hunted, threatened, assaulted or terrorised because of who they are, who they love or what community they belong to.”
Stephen Lawrence ALP
“The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2026 arises from ABC reporting. A Four Corners episode from earlier this year included shocking footage of gay and bisexual teenage boys being violently assaulted after being lured via apps to isolated locations. Those matters go back some years, to 2023, and those sorts of crimes are not new.”
Rose Jackson ALP
“Robert Borsak, Dr Amanda Cohn, Ms Sue Higginson, the Hon. Jeremy Buckingham and my colleague the Hon. Stephen Lawrence. It was interesting to hear the Hon. Stephen Lawrence’s reflections on the useful and practical advice provided by ACON in a preventative sense to try to keep young people safe when they are engaging in meet‑ups, hook‑ups and engagements online.”
News articles and press releases
Crimes Legislation Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2026
Mr MICHAEL DALEY, Attorney General — 2026-03-17
First, it expands the existing offence of performance crime in section 154K of the Crimes Act 1900 to also capture offenders who commit serious assault or robbery offences and disseminate material to advertise their offending conduct. This ensures the law keeps pace with evolving offending behaviour. Second, the bill introduces a new offence into the Crimes Act of procuring, or attempting to procure, a victim by making a false or misleading representation with intent to commit a serious assault offence or robbery offence. This targeted offence ensures procuring conduct is specifically and appropriately criminalised.