Last edited: April 10, 2007


Australia

  • Statute: None.
  • Restriction: Queensland’s age of consent is 16, but anal intercourse is illegal involving anyone under 18. 

In the state of Queensland the age of consent is 16, but a separate law defines a minimum age of 18 years for any person who engages in the act of "sodomy." A penalty of up to 14 years jail applies for offenders (whether male or female). Both partners are potentially liable to punishment unless the younger is under 16.

Queensland is the only state in Australia that has a Sodomy Law. It was enacted in 1990 at the same time as sex between men was decriminalised. When Conservatives briefly took Government in 1997 they changed the definition of the offence from "unlawful anal intercourse" involving a person "not an adult" under Criminal Law (17 years) to "sodomy" involving anyone under 18 years. They simultaneously doubled the penalties.

See the Campaign For Sodomy Law Reform in Queensland for more information.


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See Fiji for news about an Australian man's arrest for consensual gay sex and Australian responses.


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