How NSW law structures sexual offences
Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), Division 10: sexual offences are organised around the act alleged (sexual intercourse, sexual touching, a sexual act), the presence or absence of consent under the affirmative consent framework introduced in 2022, and circumstances of aggravation. Image-based offences sit in Division 15C; registration consequences arise under the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000.
NSW law distinguishes sexual offences along three lines: what is alleged to have occurred, from sexual touching through to sexual intercourse without consent; the consent framework, which since 2022 requires that consent be communicated by words or actions and that an accused's belief in consent be reasonable in the circumstances; and aggravating circumstances — age, authority, injury, company — which raise both the charge and the maximum penalty.
Two features distinguish these prosecutions from the rest of the criminal law. First, the trials are evidentially particular: complainant evidence is often given remotely or pre-recorded, tendency and context evidence rules are complex, and cross-examination is closely regulated. Second, the consequences extend beyond sentence — for child-related offences, registration follows conviction automatically. The decisions that shape the outcome are made early, and they are difficult to unmake.
Sexual offence matters we defend
Sexual Assault
Sexual intercourse without consent under s 61I — the central offence, carrying 14 years, where the affirmative consent framework does most of its work.
Aggravated Sexual Assault
The aggravated forms — injury, threats, company, authority — carrying 20 years, and life where committed in company. Strictly indictable, District Court matters.
Sexual Touching
The offence that replaced indecent assault — touching a person sexually without consent. Many of these matters can be dealt with in the Local Court.
Child Abuse Material
Possession, dissemination and production offences under State and Commonwealth law — technically complex prosecutions where forensic analysis of devices is often the whole case.
Child Protection Register
The reporting obligations that follow conviction for child-related offences — what registration requires, how long it lasts, and offences against the obligations themselves.
Intimate-image offences — what the law calls "image-based abuse"
The conduct commonly described as "revenge porn" is prosecuted in NSW under three offences in Division 15C of the Crimes Act: recording an intimate image without consent, distributing an intimate image without consent, and threatening to record or distribute one. Each carries a maximum of 3 years' imprisonment.
Three points are routinely misunderstood. Motive is irrelevant — the prosecution does not need to prove revenge or malice, only the act without consent. The threat offence is complete whether or not any image exists. And an image lawfully made within a relationship can still found a distribution charge once shared without consent — consent to recording is not consent to distribution. Courts can also order rectification: the removal and destruction of images, with a further offence for non-compliance.
These charges frequently arise alongside relationship breakdown and run parallel to AVO proceedings. They are generally capable of resolution in the Local Court, and the factual and forensic questions — who sent what, from which device, with what knowledge — reward early, careful analysis.
Voyeurism and filming offences
The Crimes Act contains a set of specific offences covering observing or filming a person in a private act, and filming a person's private parts, without consent — conduct prosecuted where it occurs in changing rooms, bathrooms, homes and public places. The basic offences carry up to 2 years' imprisonment; aggravated forms, including where the person is a child or the conduct involved breaking into premises, carry up to 5 years. Installing a device — a camera, a phone, anything adapted for the purpose — to enable such observation or filming is itself an offence.
These prosecutions turn on precise statutory definitions: what counts as a "private act", whether the circumstances were ones in which privacy would reasonably be expected, and whether the purpose element — sexual arousal or gratification — is made out. Conviction for an aggravated offence involving a child can attract registration consequences. The definitions matter, and they are where these cases are won and lost.
How Lenz Legal approaches these matters
Sexual offence allegations are defended on evidence, not assertion. The work begins before any interview: in most matters there is no advantage, and considerable risk, in an early account given without advice. From there the sequence is methodical — the full brief, the electronic and forensic material, the complainant's accounts across time, the consent framework applied precisely to the facts — and a clear decision between trial, negotiation and plea, made with the client and with the long-term consequences, including registration, fully in view.
Discretion is part of the service. These matters are conducted privately, and every matter turns on its own facts.
Sexual offence matters — your questions answered
What is image-based abuse — or "revenge porn" — under NSW law?
NSW law does not use the term "revenge porn". The offences are recording, distributing, or threatening to record or distribute an intimate image without consent — each carrying up to 3 years. Motive is irrelevant, the threat offence applies whether or not the image exists, and courts can order images removed or destroyed.
Is voyeurism a criminal offence in NSW?
Yes. Observing or filming a person in a private act, and filming a person's private parts, without consent are specific Crimes Act offences carrying up to 2 years — up to 5 in aggravated forms. Installing a device for the purpose is also an offence.
Will I go on the register if convicted?
For most sexual offences against children, registration under the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act is automatic on conviction, with reporting obligations lasting from several years to life. Offences against adults do not attract registration. Because it follows the conviction automatically, the charge ultimately resolved is what determines it.
Can these charges be dealt with in the Local Court?
Some can. Sexual touching, image-based abuse and voyeurism offences are generally capable of Local Court resolution, where maximum penalties are capped. Sexual assault and its aggravated forms are strictly indictable and proceed to the District Court. Where a choice of jurisdiction exists, it is a significant strategic decision on the facts.