{"id":"sr:crimes-child-abuse-material-regulations-2017","name":"Crimes (Child Abuse Material) Regulations 2017","slug":"crimes-child-abuse-material-regulations-2017","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":184175,"registerId":"vic-sr:crimes-child-abuse-material-regulations-2017-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Crimes (Child Abuse Material) Regulations 2017","content":"Version No. 001\n\n**Crimes (Child Abuse Material) Regulations 2017**\n\n**S.R. No. 39/2017**\n\nVersion as at  \n1 July 2017\n\n**TABLE OF PROVISIONS**\n\n*Regulation Page*\n\n1 Objective 1\n\n2 Authorising provision 1\n\n3 Commencement 1\n\n4 Revocation 1\n\n5 Definition 1\n\n6 Authorised classifier 1\n\n7 Relevant industry regulatory authority 2\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes 3\n\n1 General information 3\n\n2 Table of Amendments 5\n\n3 Amendments Not in Operation 6\n\n4 Explanatory details 7\n\n**Version No.** **001**\n\n**Crimes (Child Abuse Material) Regulations 2017**\n\n**S.R. No. 39/2017**\n\nVersion as at  \n1 July 2017\n\n\t1 Objective\n\nThe objective of these Regulations is to prescribe matters required to give effect to certain provisions of the **Crimes Act 1958** relating to child abuse material.\n\n\t2 Authorising provision\n\nThese Regulations are made under section 585AAA of the **Crimes Act 1958**.\n\n\t3 Commencement\n\nThese Regulations come into operation on 1 July 2017.\n\n\t4 Revocation\n\nThe Crimes (Child Pornography) Regulations 2015[[1]](#endnote-1) are **revoked**.\n\n\t5 Definition\n\nIn these Regulations, ***Victoria Police*** has the same meaning as in the **Victoria Police Act 2013**.\n\n\t6 Authorised classifier\n\nFor the purposes of the definition of ***authorised classifier*** in section 51A(1) of the **Crimes Act 1958**, members of Victoria Police personnel who have undertaken training conducted by Victoria Police in the examination of random samples of seized material (within the meaning ofsection 51V(9) of the **Crimes Act 1958**) and the certification of findings as to the nature and content of the samples are prescribed.\n\n\t7 Relevant industry regulatory authority\n\nFor the purposes of the definition of ***relevant industry regulatory authority*** in section 51A(1) of the **Crimes Act 1958**, the Children's e-Safety Commissioner appointed under section 50 of the Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act 2015 of the Commonwealth is prescribed for the purposes of section 51S(2)(d) of the **Crimes Act 1958**.\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes\n\n1 General information\n\nSee [www.legislation.vic.gov.au](http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au) for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.\n\nThe Crimes (Child Abuse Material) Regulations 2017, S.R. No. 39/2017 were made on 6 June 2017 by the Governor in Council under section 585AAA of the **Crimes Act 1958**, No. 6231/1958 and came into operation on 1 July 2017: regulation 3.\n\nThe Crimes (Child Abuse Material) Regulations 2017 will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 6 June 2027 (see section 5 of the **Subordinate Legislation Act 1994**).\n\nINTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)\n\nStyle changes\n\nSection 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.\n\nReferences to ILA s. 39B\n\nSidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided regulation, rule or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subregulations, subrules or subclauses the original regulation, rule or clause becomes subregulation, subrule or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression \"(1)\" at the beginning of the original regulation, rule or clause.\n\nInterpretation\n\nAs from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:\n\n• Headings\n\nAll headings included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any heading inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nThis includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; Orders; Parts into which an Order is divided; clauses; regulations; rules; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms.  \nSee section 36(1A)(2A)(2B).\n\n• Examples, diagrams or notes\n\nAll examples, diagrams or notes included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Statutory Rule. See section 36(3A).\n\n• Punctuation\n\nAll punctuation included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 forms part of that Statutory Rule. Any punctuation inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nSee section 36(3B).\n\n• Provision numbers\n\nAll provision numbers included in a Statutory Rule form part of that Statutory Rule, whether inserted in the Statutory Rule before, on or after  \n1 January 2001. Provision numbers include regulation numbers, rule numbers, subregulation numbers, subrule numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).\n\n• Location of \"legislative items\"\n\nA \"legislative item\" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of a Statutory Rule is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.\n\n• Other material\n\nAny explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of a Statutory Rule. See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).\n\n2 Table of Amendments\n\nThere are no amendments made to the Crimes (Child Abuse Material) Regulations 2017 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments and Acts.\n\n3 Amendments Not in Operation\n\nThere are no amendments which were Not in Operation at the date of this publication.\n\n4 Explanatory details\n\n1. Reg. 4: S.R. No. 137/2015. [↑](#endnote-ref-1)","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available content (which is limited to administrative and versioning information), there is no evidence that the scope of these Regulations changed from their original intent. The document shows a consolidated version alongside the 'as made' version, which is standard regulatory practice and does not necessarily indicate a shift in scope."},"complexity_factors":["The document supplied contains almost no substantive regulatory content — only version history and metadata — making meaningful legal analysis impossible from this text alone","Subordinate legislation (regulations) typically adds a layer of complexity because you must read them alongside the parent Act to understand their full effect","Child abuse material law involves serious criminal offences with complex definitions and evidentiary requirements, which would elevate complexity if full content were available","Version history indicates amendments have been made, suggesting the Regulations have evolved over time and readers must identify the correct operative version"],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations are a Victorian statutory instrument that operationalises the Crimes (Child Abuse Material) Act by specifying definitions, procedures and technical details needed to enforce child abuse material offences. They most directly affect police, legal practitioners, organizations that handle such material, and technology/internet providers whose reporting or handling obligations are governed.\n\nThe provided document contains mainly metadata and version history, so specific regulatory details couldn’t be analyzed."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations remain tightly scoped to their original purpose: operationalising specific definitions in the Crimes Act 1958 regarding child abuse material. There is no evidence of scope creep; the instrument is purely machinery in nature."},"complexity_factors":["Only 7 regulations total, spanning 2 substantive pages","Single defined term ('Victoria Police')","No nested exceptions or conditional logic chains","Straightforward cross-references to parent Act (Crimes Act 1958) without complex interpretive dependencies","No penalty provisions, offence creation, or procedural timelines","Essentially mechanical prescription of two specific roles/entities"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short piece of Victorian subordinate legislation (regulations) that fills in technical details for the main **Crimes Act 1958**. It does two practical things:\n\n**1. Who can classify seized material?**\nPolice often seize computers and phones containing thousands of images. To avoid forcing a judge or jury to view every single file, the law allows \"authorised classifiers\" to examine random samples and certify what they contain. These regulations specify that **trained Victoria Police personnel** can perform this role—provided they have completed specific training in examining samples and certifying findings.\n\n**2. Who is the national regulator for reporting obligations?**\nThe Crimes Act requires certain people to report child abuse material to a \"relevant industry regulatory authority.\" These regulations name the **Children's e-Safety Commissioner** (a Commonwealth government position) as that authority.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThese rules make the main child abuse material laws actually work in practice. Without them, police would lack clear authority to use sampling methods in prosecutions, and industry bodies wouldn't know exactly where to send mandatory reports.\n\nThe regulations also **revoke** (cancel) the old *Crimes (Child Pornography) Regulations 2015*, updating the terminology from \"child pornography\" to \"child abuse material\"—reflecting modern understanding that this material documents crimes against children, not just \"pornography.\""},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"These Regulations replace the earlier 2015 Regulations (Reg 4) and instead prescribe particular actors and procedural definitions to give effect to specified provisions of the Crimes Act (Regs 6–7). They do not create new substantive criminal offences in the Crimes Act but change the delegated instrument that implements procedural and administrative aspects; the instrument is time‑limited by a 10‑year sunset (Endnote 1)."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple cross-references to the Crimes Act 1958 (notably s51A(1), s51V(9), s51S(2)(d)) and to the authorising section s585AAA increase navigational complexity","Interplay with other statutes: Victoria Police Act 2013 (definition of Victoria Police) and the Commonwealth Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act 2015 (Children's e‑Safety Commissioner)","Operational condition: authorisation depends on completion of Victoria Police training in examination and certification of random samples (Reg 6), creating an administrative implementation requirement","Revocation of prior delegated instrument (Crimes (Child Pornography) Regulations 2015) shifts the delegated framework (Reg 4)","Sunset provision noted in endnotes limits lifetime to 10 years from making, adding a temporal constraint on regulatory effect"],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations prescribe specific procedural details needed to operate parts of the Crimes Act 1958 that deal with child abuse material. Mechanically, they name who may certify sample material (trained Victoria Police members) and which external regulator counts for certain cross-references (the Commonwealth Children's e‑Safety Commissioner), and they revoke the 2015 regulations.\n\nWho decides: authorised Victoria Police personnel and the nominated industry regulator. Who bears compliance tasks: Victoria Police (training and certification) and bodies interacting with the e‑Safety Commissioner. (Regs 4, 6–7; s585AAA.)"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/crimes-child-abuse-material-regulations-2017","history":"/api/acts/crimes-child-abuse-material-regulations-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/crimes-child-abuse-material-regulations-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/crimes-child-abuse-material-regulations-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/crimes-child-abuse-material-regulations-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/crimes-child-abuse-material-regulations-2017/documents"}}