NSW Just Made It A Lot Harder To Get Away With Targeting Queer People
New South Wales has introduced tougher penalties for hate crimes against the LGBTQIA+ community, following a disturbing series of violent attacks against gay and bisexual men.
What sparked the reforms?
The catalyst was a recent ABC investigation by Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop that uncovered footage of Islamic State (IS) sympathisers deliberately targeting gay and bisexual teenagers in Sydney. Offenders were using dating apps to lure victims before assaulting them on camera, a pattern now known as “bait and bash.” Several of the LGBTQIA+ victims were among the first targets of the same IS-linked network connected to the Bondi terror attack.
The investigation prompted NSW Premier Chris Minns to fast-track new legislation. Attorney General Michael Daley introduced the reforms into Parliament, saying, “We’re strengthening the ability of vulnerable community members to seek justice and making it easier to charge and prosecute perpetrators of these appalling crimes.”
What the new laws actually do
Under the reforms, the maximum penalty for publicly threatening or inciting violence on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity rises from three to five years’ imprisonment. A new aggravated version of this offence has also been created, carrying up to seven years’ jail where actual violence results.
The legislation also creates a new offence for offenders who lure victims on false pretences, including via dating apps, only to target them because of their sexuality. “Post and boast” offences, where perpetrators film and share evidence of attacks, have been expanded to cover serious assaults and robberies against LGBTQIA+ people.
Prosecutors will also find it easier to prove hate as a motive. Amendments to the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 mean that when an offender demonstrates or expresses hatred during an attack, that hatred is treated as a motivating factor, removing a previous barrier in the courtroom.
The gap that still exists
The reforms are welcome, but they don’t fix everything. Earlier in 2025, NSW proposed a new criminal offence for intentionally inciting racial hatred, with a maximum penalty of two years in jail. That law, however, only covers race and does not extend to sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or disability.
Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown called out the inconsistency directly: “There is no reason why this further offence couldn’t be applied to all attributes currently protected by the law.”
Penny Sharpe, who became the first openly lesbian member of NSW Parliament back in 2005, said it plainly: “Violence against the LGBTQIA+ community has no place in NSW.” These reforms are a real step forward. Whether the law will ever treat all its citizens equally, regardless of why they were targeted, is a question still waiting for an answer.
