Australia’s Deepfake Sexual Material Laws

The Criminal Code Amendment (Deepfake Sexual Material) Act 2024 amended the federal Criminal Code and commenced on September 3, 2024, the day after Royal Assent. It replaced section 474.17A with an offence of using a carriage service to transmit sexual material without consent. The material must depict or appear to depict another person who is, or appears to be, at least 18, in a sexual pose or activity, or certain intimate body parts. The transmitter must know the person does not consent or be reckless about consent. The provision expressly makes it irrelevant whether the material is unaltered or created or altered using technology; its note specifically includes realistic false depictions such as deepfakes. The standard maximum penalty is six years’ imprisonment. Section 474.17AA adds aggravated offences. One applies when the offender has qualifying prior civil penalty orders concerning online-safety removal matters. Another applies when the offender responsible for the underlying non-consensual transmission was also responsible for creating or altering the material; the maximum penalty is seven years. This means the federal Act does not create a free-standing offence of making a sexual deepfake that is never transmitted under the provision. Other laws may apply to creation, threats, minors, offline conduct or related abuse. Child sexual abuse material provisions are separate. The eSafety Commissioner can also address image-based abuse through civil removal mechanisms under the Online Safety Act. eSafety explains that intimate images can be real or altered/faked to look like someone. State and territory criminal offences differ, so the Commonwealth Act is not the entire Australian legal framework. Reporting, removal and prosecution are distinct processes: a removal request is not itself a criminal conviction, and a platform takedown does not resolve whether an offence occurred.