The NSW government has announced plans to criminalise the creation and distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes or those created entirely using artificial intelligence (AI) and introduce the Victim Rights and Victims of Crime Commissioner Bill 2025 to NSW Parliament.
“This Government takes image-based abuse seriously, and these new laws will criminalise behaviour that is becoming more common with the use of AI,” said Jodie Harrison, minister for women and the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault, in the media release.
NSW said it plans to impose an offence punishable by a maximum of three years’ imprisonment for creating and distributing deepfakes or sharing or threatening to share these images, even if the person did not create them.
NSW added that it intends to outlaw creating, recording, and distributing sexually explicit audio, whether real or designed to sound like a real and identifiable person.
NSW currently criminalises recording or distributing intimate images, including those digitally altered, of somebody without their consent or threatening to do so.
With the newly introduced legislation, NSW said it seeks to align the state with other jurisdictions that have outlawed non-consensually producing and distributing sexually explicit material involving adults, regardless of its manner of creation.
The newly introduced Victim Rights and Victims of Crime Commissioner Bill seeks to establish an independent commissioner to advocate for victim survivors of crime.
The legislation will also rename the Victims Rights and Support Act 2013 as the Victims Support Act 2013 and authorise the independent victims commissioner to appoint a new Victims Advisory Committee to replace the existing Victims Advisory Board.
Source: NSW introduces legislation on explicit deepfakes and victim rights | Australasian Lawyer