2025
A Bill
for
An Act to amend the Crimes at Sea Act 2001, the Criminal Code,
the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, the Working with
Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 and the
legislation mentioned in schedule 1 for particular purposes
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 1]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 1 Preliminary
The Parliament of Queensland enacts—
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the Penalties and Sentences (Sexual
Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025.
2 Commencement
(1) Part 3 commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation.
(2) Part 4 commences on 1 November 2025.
(3) Parts 5 and 6 and schedule 1 commence on the later of the
following—
(a) immediately after the commencement of the Working
with Children (Risk Management and Screening) and
Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024, section 59;
(b) the date of assent.
Part 2 Amendment of Crimes at Sea
Act 2001
3 Act amended
This part amends the Crimes at Sea Act 2001.
4 Amendment of schedule, s 1 (Definitions)
Schedule, section 1(1), definition Area A of the Zone of
Cooperation—
omit.
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 5]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 2 Amendment of Crimes at Sea Act 2001
5 Amendment of schedule, s 10 (Non-application of
scheme to Area A of the Zone of Cooperation)
Schedule, section 10—
omit.
6 Amendment of schedule, s 14 (Adjacent areas)
(1) Schedule, section 14(1) and (2)(a), ‘schedule 2 to the
Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 (Commonwealth)’—
omit, insert—
schedule 1 to the Offshore Petroleum and
Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006
(Commonwealth)
(2) Schedule, section 14(2)(b), ‘subsection (7) of section 5A of
the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967
(Commonwealth)’—
omit, insert—
section 8(2) of the Offshore Petroleum and
Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006
(Commonwealth)
(3) Schedule, section 14(3)—
omit, insert—
(3) The adjacent area for Western Australia is—
(a) so much of the area described in schedule 1
to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse
Gas Storage Act 2006 (Commonwealth) in
relation to Western Australia as is within the
outer limits of the continental shelf; and
(b) the space above and below the area
described in paragraph (a).
(4) Schedule, section 14(4)(a)—
omit, insert—
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 7]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 2 Amendment of Crimes at Sea Act 2001
(a) so much of the area described in schedule 1
to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse
Gas Storage Act 2006 (Commonwealth) in
relation to the Northern Territory as is
within the outer limits of the continental
shelf; and
(5) Schedule, section 14(4)(b), ‘subsection (3) of section 5A of
the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967
(Commonwealth)’—
omit, insert—
section 8(1) of the Offshore Petroleum and
Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006
(Commonwealth)
7 Amendment of schedule, appendix 1 (Indicative map)
Schedule, appendix 1, image of map—
omit, insert—
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 8]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 3 Amendment of Criminal Code
Part 3 Amendment of Criminal Code
8 Code amended
This part amends the Criminal Code.
9 Amendment of pt 3, ch 13, hdg (Corruption and abuse of
office)
Part 3, chapter 13, heading, ‘and abuse of office’—
omit, insert—
, abuse of office, personating public officers
and other false representations
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 10]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 4 Amendment of Penalties and Sentences Act 1992
10 Insertion of new s 97A
After section 97—
insert—
97A False representations in relation to
government agencies
(1) A person who makes a false representation that
they are—
(a) a government agency; or
(b) acting on behalf of, or with the authority of,
a government agency;
commits a misdemeanour.
Maximum penalty—3 years imprisonment.
(2) A person does not commit an offence against
subsection (1)(a) or (b) if the person has a
reasonable excuse.
Example of a reasonable excuse—
a person makes a false representation for a genuine
artistic purpose
(3) In this section—
government agency means—
(a) a public sector entity within the meaning of
the Public Sector Act 2022, section 8; or
(b) another entity prescribed by regulation to be
a government agency.
Part 4 Amendment of Penalties and
Sentences Act 1992
11 Act amended
This part amends the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992.
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 12]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 4 Amendment of Penalties and Sentences Act 1992
12 Amendment of s 9 (Sentencing guidelines)
(1) Section 9(1)—
insert—
(ca) to recognise the harm done by the offender
to a victim of the offence; or
(2) Section 9(2)(f), after ‘character,’—
insert—
antecedents,
(3) Section 9—
insert—
(3A) Subsections (3B) to (3D)—
(a) apply in sentencing an offender for an
offence of a sexual nature if the offender is
determined to be of good character; but
(b) apply in relation to the offender’s good
character only to the extent the good
character is based on 1 or more of the
following—
(i) a character reference for the offender;
(ii) the offender’s standing in the
community;
(iii) the offender’s contributions to the
community.
(3B) The court may treat the offender’s good character
as a mitigating factor only if the good character is
relevant to the court’s consideration of—
(a) the offender’s prospects of rehabilitation; or
(b) the risk of the offender reoffending.
(3C) However, the court may decide not to treat the
offender’s good character as a mitigating factor,
having regard to the nature of the offence and how
serious the offence was, including—
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 12]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 4 Amendment of Penalties and Sentences Act 1992
(a) any physical, mental or emotional harm
done to the victim of the offence; and
(b) the vulnerability of the victim.
(3D) If subsection (4) also applies in sentencing the
offender, subsections (3B) and (3C) are subject to
subsection (6A).
(4) Section 9(6A)—
omit, insert—
(6A) However, for subsection (6)(h), if the offender is
determined to be of good character, the court must
not treat the good character as a mitigating factor
if it assisted the offender in committing the
offence.
(5) Section 9(7AA)—
omit, insert—
(7AA) However, for subsection (7)(d), if the offender is
determined to be of good character, the court must
not treat the good character as a mitigating factor
if it assisted the offender in committing the
offence.
(6) Section 9—
insert—
(9BA) In determining the appropriate sentence for an
offender convicted of an offence against the
Criminal Code, section 349 or 352 committed
against a child of 16 or 17 years, the court must
treat the child’s age as an aggravating factor,
unless the court considers it is not reasonable
because of the exceptional circumstances of the
case.
(9BB) For subsection (9BA), in deciding whether there
are exceptional circumstances, the court may have
regard to the closeness in age between the
offender and the child.
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 13]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 4 Amendment of Penalties and Sentences Act 1992
13 Amendment of s 179K (Giving details of impact of crime
on victim during sentencing)
Section 179K(5)—
omit, insert—
(5) The fact that a victim impact statement is absent
at the sentencing, or that details of the harm
caused to a victim by the offence are otherwise
absent at the sentencing, does not, of itself, give
rise to any inference that the offence caused little
or no harm to the victim.
14 Insertion of new pt 14, div 26
Part 14—
insert—
Division 26 Transitional provisions for
Penalties and Sentences
(Sexual Offences) and
Other Legislation
Amendment Act 2025
263 Definition for division
In this division—
amendment Act means the Penalties and
Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other
Legislation Amendment Act 2025.
264 Application of s 9 to sentencing offenders
after commencement
Section 9, as amended by the amendment Act,
applies to the sentencing of an offender after the
commencement whether the offence or
conviction happened before or after the
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 15]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 5 Amendment of Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000
commencement.
265 Application of s 179K to sentencing offenders
after commencement
Section 179K, as amended by the amendment
Act, applies to the sentencing of an offender after
the commencement whether the offence or
conviction happened before or after the
commencement.
Part 5 Amendment of Working with
Children (Risk Management
and Screening) Act 2000
15 Act amended
This part amends the Working with Children (Risk
Management and Screening) Act 2000.
16 Amendment of s 295 (Application of division)
(1) Section 295(1)(a), ‘an offence listed in schedule 2 or 4’—
omit, insert—
a prescribed offence
(2) Section 295—
insert—
(3) For subsection (1), a prescribed offence is—
(a) an offence against a provision of an Act
mentioned in schedule 2 or 4, column 1,
subject to any qualification mentioned in
column 3 opposite the provision; or
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 17]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 5 Amendment of Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000
(b) an offence of counselling or procuring the
commission of an offence of a kind
mentioned in paragraph (a); or
(c) an offence of attempting, or of conspiring,
to commit an offence of a kind mentioned in
paragraph (a); or
(d) an offence that has, as an element, an
intention to commit an offence of a kind
mentioned in paragraph (a); or
(e) an offence that, at the time it was
committed, or is alleged to have been
committed, was an offence of a kind
mentioned in paragraph (a); or
(f) another offence that is a reportable offence
under the Offender Reporting Act that is not
otherwise a prescribed offence; or
(g) an offence under a law of another
jurisdiction that, if it had been committed in
Queensland, would have constituted an
offence mentioned in paragraph (a) to (f).
(4) For subsection (3), it is immaterial if a provision
mentioned in schedule 2 or 4, column 1 for an Act
has been amended from time to time or that the
provision was previously numbered with a
different number.
17 Amendment of s 304B (Action after decision)
Section 304B(1)(b) and (2), ‘304’—
omit, insert—
304(1)
18 Amendment of s 304C (Notifiable persons and potential
employers notified about cancellation)
(1) Section 304C(1)(b), ‘304’—
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Authorised by the Parliamentary Counsel
[s 19]
Penalties and Sentences (Sexual Offences) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025
Part 6 Other amendments
omit, insert—
304(1)
(2) Section 304C(2A), after ‘section 303A’—
insert—
, 304(2)
19 Amendment of s 609 (Application to cancel negative
notice not decided)
(1) Section 609(2), ‘may’—
omit, insert—
must
(2) Section 609(4)(b)—
omit, insert—
(b) cancel the person’s negative notice.
Part 6 Other amendments
20 Legislation amended
Schedule 1 amends the legislation it mentions.
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