Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you Senator. Today, the Enhancing Online Safety (Non-consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Bill 2018 will be read a second time and debated in the House of Representatives. As colleagues would be aware, this includes a new civil penalties regime. Colleagues will also recall that the bill was initiated in the Senate and passed on 14 February, with amendments moved by NXT, now Centre Alliance. Those amendments sought to create new criminal provisions in the Criminal Code Act 1995. I acknowledge Centre Alliance's deep interest in this issue and, indeed, that of the opposition as well. However, upon consultation with various stakeholders across government, including law enforcement officers and prosecutors, issues were highlighted with regard to the workability of the proposed amendments. We appreciate that drafting amendments from the non-government side can be a challenge, so the government has created substitute amendments that will retain the intent of the Centre Alliance amendments to criminalise the non-consensual sharing of intimate images but do so in a way that's more consistent with the existing criminal justice system.

The government will introduce two aggravated offences for the existing offence of using a carriage service in a way that a reasonable person would consider menacing, harassing or offensive in all the circumstances. The current offence has a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment. These amendments will increase the maximum penalty to five years imprisonment for dealings in private sexual material and seven years imprisonment for repeat offenders of the civil penalty regime. I know that the parliament will want to join in cracking down on the online creeps who want to harm, distress, humiliate or embarrass their victims, whatever the reasons, by sharing intimate images without consent.