13th Feb 2018, 7:11 PM – Senate Enhancing Online Safety (Non-Consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Bill 2017 - Second Reading - Criminalise

The majority voted in favour of a motion to add certain words to the usual second reading motion "that the bill be read for a second time" - which is parliamentary jargon for "that the Senate agree with the main idea of the bill".

In other words, senators who supported this motion wanted to add a proviso to their support for the main idea of the bill.

What words were added?

At the end of the motion, add:

", but the Senate:

(a) notes key research findings from RMIT University that 1 in 5 Australians have experienced image-based abuse and 4 in 5 Australians agree it should be a crime to share sexual or nude images without permission;

(b) notes that in Australia there is a piecemeal legislative approach to image-based abuse, with no nationally consistent criminal laws, and that the harms associated with image based abuse warrant it being specifically classified as a criminal offence;

(c) notes that the Council of Australian Governments recommended that to clarify the serious and criminal nature of the distribution of intimate material without consent, legislation should be developed that includes strong penalties for adults who do so;

(d) notes that this Bill does not criminalise the sharing of intimate images without consent; and

(e) with the exception of depictions of persons without attire of religious or cultural significance, calls on the Government to criminalise the sharing of intimate images without consent."

Main idea of the bill

The bill was introduced to:

• prohibit the posting of, or threatening to post, an intimate image without consent on a social media service, relevant electronic service or a designated internet service;
• establish a complaints and objections system to be administered by the eSafety Commissioner;
• provide the commissioner with powers to issue removal notices or remedial directions;
• establish a civil penalty regime to be administered by the commissioner; and
• enable the commissioner to seek a civil penalty order from a relevant court, issue an infringement notice, obtain an injunction or enforce an undertaking, or issue a formal warning for contraventions of the civil penalty provisions

Note that the bill does not criminalise sharing intimate images without consent. The prohibition it creates is a civil matter, not a criminal one.

Read more in the bills digest.