This bill did not become law and is no longer proceeding.
Law, justice & rights
Australia's Criminal CodeAustralia's main federal criminal law, which this bill would amend to create new offences. would make it a new crime to use phone or internet services to encourage trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area., property damageDeliberately or unlawfully damaging or destroying property, which the bill would make a separate online-incitement offence., theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it., or road blockagesBlocking the path of road users in a way the law does not allow, which is one of the conduct types this bill targets. in busy city business and cultural areas.
Online organisers were inciting trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area., property damageDeliberately or unlawfully damaging or destroying property, which the bill would make a separate online-incitement offence., theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it. and road blockagesBlocking the path of road users in a way the law does not allow, which is one of the conduct types this bill targets. in major business areas, causing economic disruption while going unpunished. The bill creates new federal offences for using phone or internet services to encourage those illegal acts, with exemptions for journalists and protected whistleblowers.
Australia already had a 2019 Criminal CodeAustralia's main federal criminal law, which this bill would amend to create new offences. model for online incitementEncouraging another person to commit an offence, even if the offence does not actually happen. of trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area. and property offences on agricultural land, but supporters of this bill argued that similar tactics were being used in city business and cultural precincts, where organisers used phone and internet services to encourage trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area., property damageDeliberately or unlawfully damaging or destroying property, which the bill would make a separate online-incitement offence., theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it. and road blockagesBlocking the path of road users in a way the law does not allow, which is one of the conduct types this bill targets. while the people planning them escaped meaningful punishment. The bill was introduced on 8 February 2023 to extend that approach to major urban areas with journalist and whistleblower exemptions, but it did not pass and lapsed at the end of Parliament on 21 July 2025.
No significant public case against this bill is recorded so far, and the available debate material frames it as a law-and-order measure aimed at online incitementEncouraging another person to commit an offence, even if the offence does not actually happen. of trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area., damage, theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it. and road blockagesBlocking the path of road users in a way the law does not allow, which is one of the conduct types this bill targets.. The only clear parliamentary speech provided backed the bill, so any concerns recorded so far are at most indirect and not a developed public campaign against it.
Senator Alex AnticThe senator who introduced the bill and argued it was needed to stop online organisers driving city disruptions. introduced this bill. Speeches supporting it came from Liberal Party.
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
894 days
From introduction to the final recorded step before the bill stopped proceeding
Meaning
Australia's Criminal CodeAustralia's main federal criminal law, which this bill would amend to create new offences. would make it a new crime to use phone or internet services to encourage trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area., property damageDeliberately or unlawfully damaging or destroying property, which the bill would make a separate online-incitement offence., theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it., or road blockagesBlocking the path of road users in a way the law does not allow, which is one of the conduct types this bill targets. in busy city business and cultural areas.
People who use phone or internet services to encourage trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area. in busy city business or cultural precincts could face up to 12 months in prison if they are reckless about harm to businesses there.
People who use phone or internet services to encourage unlawful property damageDeliberately or unlawfully damaging or destroying property, which the bill would make a separate online-incitement offence. or theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it. in busy city business or cultural precincts could face up to 5 years in prison.
People who use phone or internet services to encourage blocking road users in busy city business or cultural precincts could face up to 12 months in prison.
Journalists reporting in the public interest and people making protected whistleblower disclosures would be exempt from these new offences.
This Bill would amend the Criminal Code Act 1995 to introduce three new offences relating to the incitement of trespass, property damage or theft and unlawful obstruction of traffic in central business districts and other centres of significant business or cultural activity in Australia.Criminal Code Amendment (Inciting Illegal Disruptive Activities) explanatory memorandum
New section 474.49 would provide an offence for transmitting materials using a carriage service to incite trespass in a major business area, while reckless to the detriment the trespass or related conduct could cause to a business that is being carried on on the land or premises. The section also includes relevant offence-specific defences.Criminal Code Amendment (Inciting Illegal Disruptive Activities) explanatory memorandum
The maximum penalty for this offence is imprisonment for five years. The majority of State and Territory property damage and theft offences are penalised by imprisonment of five to 10 years. Given the significant harm and economic harm that can be caused by property damage and theft, it is appropriate that inciting people or groups to commit these crimes attracts a period of imprisonment.Criminal Code Amendment (Inciting Illegal Disruptive Activities) explanatory memorandum
The maximum penalty for this offence would be imprisonment for 12 months.Criminal Code Amendment (Inciting Illegal Disruptive Activities) explanatory memorandum
This Bill mirrors the Ag Bill to include similar provisions with respect to exemptions for journalists and whistleblowers and the implied freedom of political communication.Criminal Code Amendment (Inciting Illegal Disruptive Activities) explanatory memorandum
Context
Australia already had a 2019 Criminal CodeAustralia's main federal criminal law, which this bill would amend to create new offences. model for online incitementEncouraging another person to commit an offence, even if the offence does not actually happen. of trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area. and property offences on agricultural land, but supporters of this bill argued that similar tactics were being used in city business and cultural precincts, where organisers used phone and internet services to encourage trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area., property damageDeliberately or unlawfully damaging or destroying property, which the bill would make a separate online-incitement offence., theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it. and road blockagesBlocking the path of road users in a way the law does not allow, which is one of the conduct types this bill targets. while the people planning them escaped meaningful punishment. The bill was introduced on 8 February 2023 to extend that approach to major urban areas with journalist and whistleblower exemptions, but it did not pass and lapsed at the end of Parliament on 21 July 2025.
Existing federal online-incitementEncouraging another person to commit an offence, even if the offence does not actually happen. offences were created for agricultural land
The explanatory memorandum said the bill built on the earlier Agricultural Protection amendments, which had already made some online incitementEncouraging another person to commit an offence, even if the offence does not actually happen. of trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area. and property offences a federal criminal matter.
Criminal Code Amendment (Inciting Illegal Disruptive Activities) explanatory memorandum ↗Online organisers were accused of driving illegal city disruptions that harmed businesses
The bill's backers said organised groups were using internet and phone services to plan trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area., property damageDeliberately or unlawfully damaging or destroying property, which the bill would make a separate online-incitement offence., theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it. and road blockagesBlocking the path of road users in a way the law does not allow, which is one of the conduct types this bill targets. in capital-city business areas, causing economic disruption while organisers went unpunished.
Hansard ↗Bill introduced to extend the federal model to major business areas
Senator AnticThe senator who introduced the bill and argued it was needed to stop online organisers driving city disruptions. introduced the bill to create new federal offences for using a carriage serviceThe legal term used here for phone and internet services that could be used to spread material encouraging illegal conduct. to incite trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area., property damageDeliberately or unlawfully damaging or destroying property, which the bill would make a separate online-incitement offence. or theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it., and unlawful traffic obstruction in CBDsThe bill's name for a CBD or other city precinct with significant business or cultural activity. and other major business or cultural precincts.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Bill lapses at the end of Parliament
Because the bill did not complete its passage before the Parliament ended, the proposed new city-focused offences never became law.
Parliamentary timeline ↗Legislative route
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
The scrutiny committee queried whether the explanatory memorandum had adequately justified the significant penalties attached to proposed subsection 474.51(1).
Comment made
Scrutiny Digest 2 of 2023The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Key criticism
No significant public case against this bill is recorded so far, and the available debate material frames it as a law-and-order measure aimed at online incitementEncouraging another person to commit an offence, even if the offence does not actually happen. of trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area., damage, theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it. and road blockagesBlocking the path of road users in a way the law does not allow, which is one of the conduct types this bill targets.. The only clear parliamentary speech provided backed the bill, so any concerns recorded so far are at most indirect and not a developed public campaign against it.
No party represented in the debate publicly available sources opposed the bill.
Votes
No recorded votes were found before this bill stopped proceeding.
Parliamentary debate
Start here — lead voices
Antic supports the bill and says it is needed to stop people using the internet to incite trespassEntering land or premises without permission, which this bill targets when it is encouraged online in a major business area., theftTaking property unlawfully, which this bill would also cover when people use phone or internet services to encourage it., vandalism, or road disruption in major business areas.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
1 speaker · 1 support
“This Bill will punish those who incite others to commit disruptive crimes and will ensure everyday Australians and businesses are protected from extremist forms of chaos and disruption.”Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Senate · 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.
Senate · 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.
Senate · Lapsed at end of Parliament
Lapsed at end of Parliament
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
Comment made
The scrutiny committee queried whether the explanatory memorandum had adequately justified the significant penalties attached to proposed subsection 474.51(1).
The committee considered the bill in Scrutiny Digest 2 of 2023 and raised scrutiny concerns about the penalty for the proposed traffic-disruption offence.
Scrutiny Digest 2 of 2023