Age of consent laws in Australia

This resource sheet is provided as a guide only. It is up to date with current legislation at the time of publication. Because laws may change subsequent to publication, individuals are encouraged to check the relevant legislation in their jurisdiction.

Overview

This resource sheet provides information on age of consent laws for each state and territory in Australia. These specify the legal age at which young people can consent to sexual intercourse or other sexual activities. We use the term ‘age of consent laws’ as this is the commonly used terminology. However, it is important to note that information about the legal age of consent is drawn from each state and territory Crimes Act or Criminal Code legislation and these do not necessarily use this term.

This resource sheet also provides information on legal definitions of consent and considers some common questions relating to age of consent laws. This resource is for practitioners and other professionals who work with children and families in Australia. Information for children and young people can be found at the end (see Further reading and resources).

Introduction

Legislation relating to ‘age of consent’ sets out the age at which a person is considered legally able to give informed consent and agree to sexual activities with another person. That is, the age at which they are legally considered mature enough to understand what consent is, the consequences of giving consent and how to communicate whether they do or do not give consent (Youth Law Australia, 2024).

Age is only one factor of legal consent (refer to the section legal definitions of consent). However, the legislation in all states and territories states that children and young people below the age of consent are not considered by law to have the capacity to consent, even if the other requirements for consent appear to be met (e.g. understanding what activity they are agreeing to, voluntarily agreeing to or suggesting sexual activity without being coerced or intimidated, communicating their agreement) (Department of Social Services [DSS], 2023).

Age of consent laws are derived from legislation relating to sexual intercourse with children or young people and child sexual abuse. They should be considered alongside other related legislation such as that covering mandatory reporting of child abuse. For more information about the legislation concerning child sexual abuse refer to the National review of child sexual abuse and sexual assault legislation in Australia (Dowling et al., 2024). For more information about preventing child sexual abuse, refer to It is time to focus on prevention: A scoping review of practices associated with prevention of child sexual abuse and Australian policy implications (Vosz et al., 2023) and Community awareness and education for primary prevention of child sexual abuse and harmful sexual behaviour (Walsh et al., 2023).

Age of consent laws vary between states and territories. Some states and territories include additional considerations for sexual activity between people under the age of consent (refer to the section legal age of consent by state and territory) and additional provisions for people in supervisory roles or positions of authority (refer to the section Legislation relating to supervisory roles and age of consent).

Legal definitions of consent

The legal definitions of consent in each state and territory refer specifically to consent to participate in sexual activities. Each state and territory has its own legislation defining consent, including details of what is not considered consent (refer Table 1). It is important to note that, although similar, definitions are not the same across all jurisdictions. For example:

• All state and territory definitions state that consent must be free and voluntary (e.g. without threats, fear or intimidation).
• All jurisdictions, except Western Australia, outline provisions about capacity to consent (e.g. a person does not have capacity to consent if they are asleep, unconscious or intoxicated).
• The Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria explicitly state that consent must be actively communicated (e.g. consent cannot be presumed just because someone did not say ‘no’ or resist).

It is important to note that a person under the age of consent cannot consent to sexual activity even if the other provisions under legal definitions of consent are met.

Table 1: Legal definitions of consent by state and territory

What is the legal age of consent in Australian jurisdictions?

The legislation relevant to age of consent is found in state and territory criminal legislation about sexual intercourse or other sexual activities with young people or children (Table 2).

The age of consent is:

• 16 years for ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, Vic and WA
• 17 years for SA and Tas.

The specific sexual activities included in the legislation vary between states and territories. All states and territories include sexual intercourse or sexual penetration. Some states and territories include provisions for a broader range of sexual activities including sexual acts (NSW), indecent treatment (Qld), indecent acts (Tas), sexual activity (Vic) and sexual behaviour (WA). Definitions of these terms are in the Crimes Acts and Criminal Code links in Table 2.

Table 2: Legislation related to age of consent by state and territory

All states and territories have separate criminal legislation relating to sexual abuse or sexual assault laws. It is important to remember that because children are considered under law to not have the decision-making capacity to give consent, all sexual interactions between an adult and a person under the age of consent are considered abusive.

Additional legal considerations

In the section below, we provide information about additional legal considerations related to age of consent.

Legislation relating to supervisory roles and age of consent

Although the legal age of consent throughout Australia is either 16 or 17 years of age (refer Table 2), legislation in all states and territories, except for Queensland, makes it an offence for a person in a supervisory role or a position of authority to have sexual interactions with a person under their special care who is aged 16 or 17 years.

A person in a supervisory role providing special care may include: a teacher, a foster parent or authorised carer, a religious official or spiritual leader, a medical practitioner, an employer of the child or a custodial official. Table 3 provides links to the relevant state or territory legislation regarding sexual interactions with 16 and 17 year olds under special care.

Table 3: Legislation relating to sexual interactions with young people under special care laws, by state and territory

Legislation relating to consent between young people of similar age

The Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia provide for a legal defence when a mutually consensual sexual interaction is between 2 young people close in age but under the age of consent. These jurisdictions are attempting to find a way to protect children and young people from adult sexual exploitation while not criminalising them for having sexual relationships with their peers.

Details of special provisions can be found in the links to legislation provided in Table 2: Legislation related to age of consent. The Sex & Dating webpage on the Youth Law Australia website contains more information about how age of consent laws apply to young people engaging in sexual activities with their peers for each state and territory.

Legislation relating to children and young people sharing intimate images

A person who asks for, accesses, possesses, creates or shares sexualised or intimate images or videos of someone under the age of 18 years may be at risk of criminal charges, even if both people are under the age of 18 and agree to it (eSafety Commissioner, 2024). This is because the images may be considered to be child abuse material or child pornography. Examples of sexualised or intimate images include nudes, partial nudes, fake nudes, naked selfies and upskirting, as well as images or recordings of private activities such as having sex or going to the toilet (eSafety Commissioner, 2024). Sharing sexual or intimate images can also be referred to as ‘sexting’.

In most cases, persons under the age of 18 cannot consent to intimate images being created or shared. However, legislation varies between Commonwealth law and different state and territory laws, and there are some provisions for when it may be legal for young people aged 16 or 17 to send or share intimate images with another young person of similar age with their consent. Information from Youth Law Australia states that the only way to be completely legally safe when sending or sharing intimate images is for both people to be over the age of 18 and to consent. More information is available here: Sexting | Youth Legal Support in Victoria | Youth Law Australia

Reporting suspected child abuse and responding to disclosures

Anyone who suspects, on reasonable grounds, that a child or young person is at risk of being abused and/or neglected should report it to the reporting authority in their state or territory. For further information refer to: Reporting child abuse and neglect.

Mandatory reporting laws require specified individuals – usually those in occupations where they are likely to interact with children in the course of their work – to report any suspicion of abuse or neglect of a child or young person to government authorities. For further information refer to: Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect.

If a child or young person has disclosed abuse or neglect to you, it is important to stay calm and reassure them that you will help them to be safe. For information on how to respond to disclosures of abuse, refer to: Responding to Children and Young People’s Disclosures of Abuse.

For information, counselling support and service referral, contact details and links to helplines and telephone counselling services refer to: Helplines, Telephone and Online Counselling Services for Children, Young People and Adults.

Further reading and resources

Supporting healthy relationships and sexual development for children and young people

These resources provide information about supporting young people in developing healthy peer relationships and identifying and responding to inappropriate or harmful sexual behaviours experienced or used by children and young people.

The Commonwealth Consent Policy Framework

The Department of Social Services (DSS) has developed a framework to support organisations working to prevent sexual violence, to promote healthy sexual relationships and sexual consent to young people.

Australia's youth: Intimate relationships

This report, from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), looks at how many young people are in intimate relationships, how they feel about them, and their knowledge of respectful relationships. 

Good practice in delivering and evaluating interventions for young people with harmful sexual behaviours

This research report outlines key findings from ANROWS research into ‘good practice in delivering and evaluating interventions for young people with harmful sexual behaviours’ and includes recommendations for researchers and practitioners.

Harmful sexual behaviour framework: An evidence-informed operational framework for children and young people displaying harmful sexual behaviours

This framework provides an evidence-informed tool for developing coordinated, multi-agency responses to children and young people’s harmful sexual behaviour.

Talking to your young person about sexual consent and Understanding sexual consent

These Headspace resources support parents, carers and people working with young people to have conversations about sexual consent with young people and provide information about consent to young people themselves.

Beyond yes and no: How to navigate conversations about consent with young people

Play Safe Pro (NSW) outlines 6 strategies to help practitioners and professionals who work with young people guide conversations about consent.

Teens: puberty & sexual development

The Raising Children Network has resources relating to teenage sexual development and behaviour, consent and sexual consent, and harmful sexual behaviours that may be useful for practitioners working with young people and their families.

Healthy relationships and consent

The Australian Government Office for Youth website provides information and resources on healthy relationships and sexual consent for young people.

Information for children and young people

If you are a child or young person who wants to learn more about sex, consent and respectful relationships, see the following websites:

• ReachOut has information on sex and relationships for young people.
• Kids Helpline provides information for young people about what consent means when engaging in sexual activity.
• 1800RESPECT provides information about what age of consent means, what healthy relationships look like and what sexual violence looks like. It also provides a national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.
• Youth Law Australia provides free, confidential legal information and help for young people under 25 years, including information about age of consent laws for your state or territory.
• Raising Children Network has information on legal age laws for young people including for sexual consent.

Authors and acknowledgements

This resource sheet was updated by Kylie Butler, Senior Research Officer, from the Child Family Community Australia (CFCA) information exchange at the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Dr Mandy Truong (AIFS), Sharnee Moore (AIFS) and Dr Stewart Muir (AIFS) reviewed drafts of this resource. The previous edition was updated in 2021 by Adam Dean, CFCA Senior Research Officer.

Featured image is by Steve Snodgrass, CC BY 2.0.

References

Department of Social Services (DSS). (2023). The Commonwealth Consent Policy Framework: Promoting healthy sexual relationships and consent among young people. Commonwealth of Australia.

Dowling, C., Lawler, S., Doherty, L., & Wolbers, H. (2024). National review of child sexual abuse and sexual assault in Australia. Special reports. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.

eSafety Commissioner. (2024). Sexting and sending nudes | eSafety Commissioner (Accessed 18 February 2024).

Vosz, M., McPherson, L., Tucci, J., Mitchell, J., Fernandes, C., & Macnamara, N. (2023). It is time to focus on prevention: A scoping review of practices associated with prevention of child sexual abuse and Australian policy implications. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice, 6, 79–107.

Walsh, K., Pinnock, R., Smith, R., Higgins, D., & Mathews, B. (2023). Rapid review of approaches to community awareness and education for child sexual abuse and children’s harmful sexual behaviour. National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse Scoping Study Series. The National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse.

Youth Law Australia (2024). Sex and dating. yla.org.au/vic/topics/health-love-and-sex/sex/