The Victorian government has unveiled long-awaited legislation to overhaul the state’s anti-vilification laws, the culmination of more than five years of work.
The justice legislation amendment (anti-vilification and social cohesion) bill 2024 was introduced to parliament on Tuesday and will be debated in the new year.
Jacinta Allan said the bill – which expands on protection against racial and religious vilification – would cover a broad range of personal attributes including sexuality and disability.
“It will keep us safe from vilification and hate in public, on our streets, in our workplaces, in the corridors of universities – everywhere we go to participate in this great community of Victoria as equals,” the premier said.
“It will also help keep us united against that American-style division that is starting to creep more and more into our community, into our dialogue, into our society, by cracking down on those who try and whip up hatred.”
Here’s what we know about the bill.
How did this come about?
The push to strengthen the laws began with the former upper house MP Fiona Patten, who introduced her own bill in 2019. She argued that existing laws were inadequate, especially in addressing online abuse and violence targeting women, the LGBTIQ+ community and people with disabilities.
Labor referred the bill to a parliamentary inquiry. In 2021 this recommended broadening the laws to cover these groups and strengthening penalties for vilification, finding there had been only two prosecutions in the 20 years since the laws took effect.
The government began an extensive consultation process. “I’ve spent almost two years in consultation with those that are experiencing some of the worst features that can appear in the community,” said the attorney general, Jaclyn Symes. “It has cemented in me an obligation to act.”
She said the laws were designed to protect people who took part in the consultation process, including a Muslim woman afraid to use public transport, Jewish children fearing antisemitism and a queer schoolboy facing severe bullying.
What are the bill’s key elements?
The legislation will broaden existing legal protection against racial and religious vilification to include disability, gender identity, sex and sexual orientation.
Labor says this will protect drag performers (under gender identity) and include people with mental illness or HIV/Aids (under disability).
The bill also extends protection to those with a “personal association” to someone with a protected attribute, such as the parent of a disabled child.
“That means that all Victorians will now be protected against vilification and hate,” Allan said.
What are the penalties?
The bill creates two new criminal offence.
The first will be to “incite hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule against another person or group based on their protected attribute”, with a penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment.
The second will be to “threaten physical harm or property damage against a person or a group based on their protected attribute”, which carries up to five years’ imprisonment.
These offences will apply in any context – private, public or online.
The existing serious vilification offence requires proof that a person has incited hatred and threatened physical harm or property damage. According to the government, proving both elements made prosecutions difficult.
The bill also removes the requirement for police to seek consent from the director of public prosecutions to pursue offences, except when the accused is under 18.
What about civil laws?
Two new civil protections will be introduced, making it easier for people to pursue legal action for comments made in public spaces, including on social media, as well as the display of symbols or flags.
The government says its priority will be to introduce the criminal offences first, with the civil protections to follow.
What about freedom of speech and freedom of religion?
The bill retains exceptions that protect activities carried out for “genuine religious, academic, artistic, public interest or scientific reasons”.
Symes said these covered“worshipping, practising, proselytising and teaching religion”.
“Being able to proselytise what you what your religion stands for is unaffected by this bill,” she said. “It can’t be used as a cloak for unabated abuse.”
The bill introduces a “political expression” defence for the criminal incitement offence, which the government said would protect political communication. But threats of physical harm or property damage would not be considered as having a genuine political purpose.
Other common law defences including self-defence, duress and mental impairment apply.
What has the reaction been?
The government was joined at its press conference with members of several community and religious groups, including the Australian Multicultural Foundation, the Hindu Council of Australia, the head of Women With Disabilities Victoria, the gender equality commissioner and the commissioner for LGBTIQA+ communities.
Among this group was a rabbi, Gabi Kaltmann, who welcomed the laws amid a rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia.
“Doesn’t matter whether you wear a kippa or a hijab, if someone vilifies you, if someone wants to go after you, your faith, your background, your belief, your sexuality, the chances are that they will be charged and go to jail or heavily fined,” he said. “We all become safer.”
Kaltmann urged other religious leaders to support the reforms. The Catholic archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli, told the Age last week he was concerned the changes could erode freedom of religious expression.
While the church “abhors vilification of any kind”, Comensoli this week said: “We welcome the government’s clarification that it intends that Victorians reasonably sharing their faith will continue to be protected by the law and will follow the progress of the bill closely.”
When could the bill come into force?
Symes said she expected the bill would pass the upper house in March, meaning the new criminal offences would be in place by September.
