Sponsor speech Supports
Kate Chaney
Kate Chaney supports the bill because it would urgently close a gap in the Criminal Code by outlawing the downloading of AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material.
Read in Hansard ↗Criminal Code Amendment (Using Technology to Generate Child Abuse Material)
Current status
This bill did not become law and is no longer proceeding.
Policy area
Law, justice & rights
What does this bill do?
The bill would make it a crime to use a phone or internet service to download or access technology whose sole or main purpose is creating child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children..
Why was it introduced?
Kate Chaney (Independent) said possessing an abusive image was already illegal, but AI tools could repeatedly create and delete images before detection. She said the flood of synthetic images made it harder for police to identify material involving real victims. She cited more than 24 million visits to the websites of 34 explicit-image tools and said victim-identification analysts were handling 65,000 new reports to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation each year.
Broader context
Australian law already prohibited possessing child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children., but AI tools built to create it could still be accessed or downloaded, allowing abusive images to be generated, deleted and reproduced at scale and making it harder for police to identify real child victims. Reports of more than 24 million visits to such tools and calls from child-safety advocates for action led independent MP Kate Chaney MP to introduce the bill on 28 July 2025, proposing offences for using, supplying or training these systems, while a later AFP-led charge showed the technology was already appearing in Australian investigations.
Key criticism
The evidence pack records no speech opposing or criticising the bill. Zali Steggall (Independent) supported it and argued that Australia would fall behind the United Kingdom and European Union unless the government acted.
Who supported it?
Kate Chaney MP introduced this bill. Speeches supporting it came from some crossbench members.
Introduced in House 28 July 2025
Failed in House 03 Mar 2026
Did not reach Senate —
Did not become law —
Did it become law?
No
The bill did not complete passage through Parliament.
Final passage
No final passage
The bill has not completed passage and is no longer proceeding.
Time before failure
218 days
From introduction to the final recorded step before the bill stopped proceeding
Meaning
What does this bill do?
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The bill would make it a crime to use a phone or internet service to download or access technology whose sole or main purpose is creating child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children.. Supplying the technology, enabling someone else to access it, or offering to supply the technology or access would also be crimes. The maximum penalty would be 15 years in prison.
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It would also make it a crime to use such a service to collect, scrape or distribute data with the intention of training or creating technology whose sole or main purpose is producing child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children.. The maximum penalty would again be 15 years in prison.
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A limited public-benefit defenceA limited legal protection for specified beneficial conduct. would cover conduct that was necessary for, or helped with, enforcing laws, monitoring compliance, investigating breaches or administering justice. It would also cover scientific, medical or educational research approved in writing by the minister responsible for the Australian Federal Police. The conduct could not go beyond what served that public benefit.
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Law enforcement, intelligence and security officers would have a separate defence when acting in the course of their duties, provided their conduct was reasonable in the circumstances.
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If passed, the changes would begin the day after the bill receives Royal AssentFormal approval that turns a passed bill into law.. The explanatory memorandum says the bill would have no financial impact.
Show source excerpts
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474.24D Downloading etc. technology for creating child abuse material (1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person does any of the following acts in relation to a technology (including an artificial intelligence technology): (i) download the technology; (ii) access the technology; (iii) supply the technology to another person; (iv) enable another person to access the technology; (v) offer to supply another person with the technology or access to the technology; and (b) the person does so using a carriage service; and (c) the sole or dominant purpose of the technology is to creat
Criminal Code Amendment (Using Technology to Generate Child Abuse Material) introduced text -
474.24E Collecting etc. data with the intention to train or create technology for creating child abuse material (1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person collects, scrapes or distributes data; and (b) the person does so using a carriage service; and (c) the person does so with the intention of training or creating a technology (including an artificial intelligence technology) whose sole or dominant purpose is to create child abuse material. Penalty: Imprisonment for 15 years.
Criminal Code Amendment (Using Technology to Generate Child Abuse Material) introduced text -
474.24F Defences (1) A person is not criminally responsible for an offence against this Subdivision because of engaging in particular conduct if the conduct: (a) is of public benefit; and (b) does not extend beyond what is of public benefit. In determining whether the person is, under this subsection, not criminally responsible for the offence, the question whether the conduct is of public benefit is a question of fact and the person’s motives in engaging in the conduct are irrelevant. Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this subsection: see subsectio
Criminal Code Amendment (Using Technology to Generate Child Abuse Material) introduced text -
(3) A person is not criminally responsible for an offence against this Subdivision if: (a) the person is, at the time of the offence, a law enforcement officer, or an intelligence or security officer, acting in the course of the officer’s duties; and (b) the conduct of the person is reasonable in the circumstances for the purpose of performing that duty. Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in this subsection: see subsection 13.3(3).
Criminal Code Amendment (Using Technology to Generate Child Abuse Material) introduced text -
2 Commencement (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms. Commencement information Commencement Date/Details 1. The whole of this Act The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.
Criminal Code Amendment (Using Technology to Generate Child Abuse Material) introduced text
Context
Broader context for this bill
Australian law already prohibited possessing child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children., but AI tools built to create it could still be accessed or downloaded, allowing abusive images to be generated, deleted and reproduced at scale and making it harder for police to identify real child victims. Reports of more than 24 million visits to such tools and calls from child-safety advocates for action led independent MP Kate Chaney MP to introduce the bill on 28 July 2025, proposing offences for using, supplying or training these systems, while a later AFP-led charge showed the technology was already appearing in Australian investigations.
- Late 2023
Graphika reports AI abuse tools have become a scaled online business
The intelligence company reported that non-consensual explicit generative AI tools had moved from niche forums into a scaled, monetised business with more than 24 million visits to 34 websites.
Second reading speech ↗ - 17 Apr 2024
Police warn that AI-generated child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children. is spreading
ABC News reported that artificial intelligence was being used to create child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children. and that police were worried about its spread.
ABC News ↗ - 17 July 2025
Grace Tame urges Australia to outlaw AI abuse tools
Grace Tame and child-safety advocates called for possession and use of AI tools designed to create child sexual abuse material to become criminal offences.
ABC News ↗ - 27 July 2025
Existing law leaves AI child-abuse tools legal to possess and distribute
ABC News reported that purpose-built AI tools for creating child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children. remained legal to possess and distribute, exposing a gap in the existing law.
ABC News ↗ - 28 July 2025
Kate Chaney introduces the bill to criminalise AI child-abuse tools
Kate Chaney MP introduced the bill in the House of Representatives to create offences for using, supplying or training technology designed to generate child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children..
Parliamentary timeline ↗ - 14 Aug 2025
NSW man charged over allegedly AI-generated child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children.
The Australian Federal Police, New South Wales Police Force and Australian Border Force announced charges against a NSW man allegedly involved in producing AI-generated child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children..
Australian Border Force ↗
Legislative route
How did it move through Parliament?
House Senate
Introduced 28 July 2025
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
Second reading opened 28 July 2025
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Removed from the Notice Paper in accordance with (SO 42) 03 Mar 2026
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Key criticism
The main case against this bill
The evidence pack records no speech opposing or criticising the bill. Zali Steggall (Independent) supported it and argued that Australia would fall behind the United Kingdom and European Union unless the government acted.
Chaney acknowledged that this narrow bill was not a complete response. She called for broader work on prevention, education, technology-company responsibility and AI safety.
Further sources
Votes
Recorded votes
No recorded votes were found before this bill stopped proceeding.
Parliamentary debate
Who spoke, and what they said
Start here — lead voices
Lead non-major voice Supports
Zali Steggall
Zali Steggall supports the bill because it would urgently close a gap in criminal law by targeting technologies designed to generate child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children. and the data used to train them.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
Minor parties and independents
2 speakers · 2 support
Minor parties and independents
2 speakers · 2 support
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Kate Chaney ★ Kate Chaney supports the bill because it would urgently close a gap in the Criminal Code by outlawing the downloading of AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material.
“This bill addresses a very specific harm that could easily be addressed within the framework of our existing Criminal Code. I urge the government to consider this amendment with urgency to protect Australian children from harm.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗ -
Zali Steggall ★ Zali Steggall supports the bill because it would urgently close a gap in criminal law by targeting technologies designed to generate child abuse materialIllegal material depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of children. and the data used to train them.
“This bill as introduced provides a new offence to criminalise the downloading, supplying and enabling access to technologies whose sole promise is to create child abuse material. It's a very particular type of AI, designed to create on-demand materials and then delete them to avoid detection. It also targets the collection and distribution of data intended to train such technologies. These provisions acknowledge that AI abuse starts with real children for these tools to be trained on. In that way, a child is always harmed in the process. These provisions are necessary and urgently needed to close a very dangerous gap in our criminal law and ensure that our justice system keeps pace with technological developments.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Full record
- Status
- Not Proceeding -- Collected from the APH bill page.
- Originating house
- House of Representatives
- 28 July 2025
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
- 28 July 2025
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
- 03 Mar 2026
House · Removed from the Notice Paper in accordance with (SO 42)
Removed from the Notice Paper in accordance with (SO 42)
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.