Child sex tourism

Child sex tourism is an appalling crime, and the Australian Government is committed to doing all it can to prevent its occurrence.

Recent changes have strengthened the laws against child sex tourism.

The new laws ensure that Australians who travel overseas to sexually abuse children will not escape the tough penalties they would have received if the offences were committed at home.

What is child sex tourism?

Child sex tourism is a global phenomenon, which generally refers to the sexual exploitation of children by offenders who travel away from their home country in order to have sexual contact with children. Australian laws make it a crime for Australians to engage in this activity.

Who can be prosecuted for child sex tourism?

The offences apply to Australian citizens, residents and bodies corporate even if they commit child sex tourism offences whilst overseas.

What types of activity can amount to child sex tourism?

Child sex tourism offences cover a broad range of activity, including:

actual sexual intercourse
acts of a sexual nature on children, and
engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child (where the offender intends to derive gratification from the child’s presence).

It is also now an offence to prepare for or plan to commit a child sex tourism offence, or to groom or procure a child for sexual activity overseas. These offences allow law enforcement to intervene before sexual activity involving a child takes place.

What are the penalties for these offences?

Australians who sexually abuse children overseas can be imprisoned for up to 20 years.
Australians who exploit a position of trust or authority or take advantage of a child’s mental impairment to engage in sexual abuse can be imprisoned for up to 25 years.
Australians who engage in a sexual relationship with a child over a period of time can be imprisoned for up to 25 years.
Australians who groom or procure a child for sexual activity overseas (for example, by using the internet to befriend a child and then trying to turn the relationship into a sexual relationship) can be imprisoned for up to 15 years.
Australians who prepare for or plan to commit child sex tourism offences can be imprisoned for up to 10 years.

The Australian Federal Police actively monitors and prosecutes child sex tourists. Further information can be found at the Australian Federal Police website.

What else has the Government done to protect children from sexual exploitation?

Australia has in place an extensive framework to prevent, investigate and prosecute all forms of child sexual exploitation, including offences that occur within Australia and those committed by Australians overseas. In April 2010, the Government introduced reforms to further strengthen offences relating to child pornography and child abuse material overseas:

The reforms also enhanced the coverage of offences for using a carriage service (eg the internet) for sexual activity with a child or for child pornography or abuse material.