Appendix C – Links to legislation, policies and frameworks

This content was initially created in 2022. Some information may no longer be current including titles of Ministers and Commonwealth Government Departments. You can find a list of current appointments on the Directory website.

The language we use has also changed from the initial terminology in the National Strategy. For a full list of the terminology we use, see our Glossary of terms page.

Legislations

There is a broad range of Australian, state and territory government laws related to child safety, child protection and child sexual abuse.

Criminal law

Australia has an extensive criminal justice system to prevent, investigate and prosecute all forms of child sexual abuse. State and territory criminal laws include child sexual abuse offences. They also set an age of consent for sexual activities. Commonwealth law includes offences that happen through carriage and postal services in Australia and offences that Australians commit overseas. It is against Commonwealth law to import and export child abuse material. Commonwealth law also restricts reportable child sex offenders’ ability to leave Australia without permission.

Child protection and child safety laws

The states and territories are responsible for child protection laws and services. Child protection
laws give courts, child protection agencies and authorities such as police, statutory powers to
protect children and young people from harm or significant risk of harm. Child protection laws mean authorities can intervene in a family setting where there is an allegation of harm or significant risk of harm to a child or young person. In some situations, the intervention may mean legal guardianship or custody of a child or young person is transferred to another person or a government department. This option is only used once other options to protect the child or young person have been exhausted.

To keep children and young people safe, child protection laws mean that some professionals must report it if they suspect child abuse. In some states and territories, all adults must legally report it if they suspect child abuse.

Each state and territory has a working with children checks scheme. This makes sure that people who work or volunteer with children or young people do not pose an unacceptable risk to the safety of children and young people. A working with children check is an ongoing assessment of a person’s eligibility to work or volunteer with children and young people. It includes a check of a person’s criminal history, child protection history and other information.

National Redress Scheme

The National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse recognises the impact of past child sexual abuse that happened in an institution. It provides redress payments to eligible victims and survivors.

Online safety legislation

The Australian Government passed the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) (Online Safety Act) on 23 June 2021. The Online Safety Act improves Australia’s world-leading online safety framework by delivering new and stronger statutory schemes, functions and powers for the eSafety Commissioner.

The Online Safety Act includes an expanded cyberbullying scheme for children. This scheme will allow cyberbullying material to be removed from online platforms where children are now spending time, such as games, websites and messaging services, as well as social media platforms. The Online Safety Act introduces new requirements for industry to take down harmful content within 24 hours (rather than 48 hours) of receiving a removal notice from the eSafety Commissioner. This includes image-based abuse, cyberbullying material and seriously harmful content. The Online Safety Act gives the eSafety Commissioner improved information gathering powers. It allows the eSafety Commissioner to take steps to identify anonymous online accounts used to bully, abuse or humiliate others, or to exchange illegal content.

The Online Safety Act maintains and updates the Online Content Scheme. This scheme requires industry to keep their users safe online through updated industry codes or standards. Where ordered by the eSafety Commissioner, the scheme also requires industry to remove class 1 ‘refused classification’ online content that is accessible to end-users in Australia, no matter where it is hosted. These protections are backed by civil penalties for service providers who fail to comply. Parliament also passed the Online Safety (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2021. This Act increases maximum criminal penalties for using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence from 3 years in prison, to 5 years in prison.

Civil law

Civil law aims to restore a victim or affected person to the place they were before the event causing loss or harm happened. Under state and territory civil law systems, victims and survivors of child sexual abuse can seek personal damages.

Youth justice system

The youth justice system manages children and young people who have committed, or allegedly committed, a criminal offence. Each state and territory has its own youth justice laws, policies and practices. Having a separate justice system for children and young people recognises that they are different from adults regarding their:

level of responsibility
potential for rehabilitation
need for protection.

Research shows that children and young people who have been abused or neglected are at greater risk of being involved in criminal activity and going into the youth justice system.

Family law

Family law provides a legal system for resolving arrangements for children and young people after a relationship breakdown. It also allows for reporting risk and harm to state agencies, including sexual harm and risk of sexual harm. A court can make parenting orders under family law that set up the parenting arrangements for a child or young person. This can include:

living arrangements
contact with each parent and significant others
how a child or young person will communicate with a parent or significant other
any other aspect of care.

The ‘best interests of the child’ is the court’s key consideration when looking at parenting matters.

Domestic and family violence legislation

Domestic and family violence laws aim to protect people, including children and young people, who fear, experience or are exposed to family violence. Domestic and family violence laws give police special powers to arrest, detain and search people in connection with protection orders. Domestic and family violence laws can also protect people suffering or witnessing family violence to give evidence and protect their identity.

Commercial, corporate and taxation laws

Commercial, corporate and taxation laws (where the latter relates to charity status) aim to make sure corporations are responsible for matters relating to child sexual abuse. This may include:

hosting child sexual abuse on an online platform
facilitating financial transactions related to child sexual abuse – including for child abuse materials
liability for child sexual abuse perpetrated by a person connected to a corporation
payment of redress, restitution and settlement of damages.

International arrangements

Measures under the National Strategy meet Australia’s commitments under international law. This includes our commitment as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

Policies and frameworks

The National Strategy will be implemented alongside other policies and frameworks that make sure children and young people are safe and well in all areas of their lives. These include the following: