Queensland publishes a bill to criminalise creating intimate images and audio without consent

The Criminal Code (Non-consensual Creation of Intimate Images and Audio Material) Amendment Bill 2026 was published on the Queensland legislation register on 27 October 2026. It is a bill. It is not an act. Clause 2 says the Act would commence on the day that is 28 days after the date of assent. The register does not print an assent date. As reported by ABC News, posted at 2:34pm on 27 October 2026, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington introduced the bill.

Proposed section 224 would make it a misdemeanour to create an intimate image, or intimate audio material, of another person without that person's consent. The maximum penalty in that section is 3 years imprisonment. "Create" means altering an image or audio to make the intimate image or audio, or generating it using digital technology. The bill's examples of digital technology are a computer, photo editing software and artificial intelligence, and one example of creating is using artificial intelligence to generate an intimate image. A child under 16 is incapable of giving consent. It is a defence to prove that the conduct was for a genuine artistic, educational, legal, medical, scientific or public benefit purpose and was, in the circumstances, reasonable for that purpose.

An image or audio that is not genuine is covered only where it could reasonably be mistaken for a genuine image or audio and the person can be identified, including where someone shown or heard so closely resembles that person. The bill says it is irrelevant whether the image conceals alteration or generation using digital technology, includes stylised or obviously artificial elements, or is partly obscured if it still depicts the person in a sexual way. A court could order a person charged with a listed offence to remove, delete or destroy the material. Failing to comply with that order, without a reasonable excuse, would be a misdemeanour with a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment.

What it means for business: the bill is not law. If it is passed and assented to, making an intimate image or intimate audio of a person in Queensland without consent, including with an AI tool, would be an offence. A label that the image was generated, or a partly stylised image, would not by itself take it outside the definition. This describes the bill. It is not advice on a particular image.