The Tasmanian government plans to criminalise covert tracking, digital surveillance, intimate image-based abuse and the misuse of artificial intelligence, with a draft bill due by the end of the year.
The laws are the third tranche of the government’s family violence reforms, which follow a discussion paper released in late 2025 that drew 68 submissions.
Attorney-General Guy Barnett said existing laws on bullying, stalking and harassment needed updating for online abuse.
“This is abhorrent and it should be criminalised,” he said.
“No one should have to live with the fear of being tracked, monitored or having their most private moments shared without their consent.”
Barnett said the area would need “constant review, constant updating” as technology and AI evolved, with the legislation to be introduced next year.
Safe at Home Director Rebecca Flakelar said technology-facilitated abuse was “really, really prevalent” among people from childhood to adulthood.
“It’s really sinister,” she said.
“It can be difficult to track and that’s why we’re wanting these reforms to come in so that we can actually do something about it and hold people to account for their behaviours.”
Flakelar said AI was “just another tool for coercive control, for manipulation” that could stop victim-survivors from reporting abuse.
She did not detail penalties but said several acts would change, including the Family Violence Act.
Victim-survivor and advocate Steph Nolan said Tasmania’s laws did not protect her when she experienced image-based abuse.
“Too often, those responsible face little to no consequence for their actions, leaving victims feeling powerless and without the justice they deserve,” she said.
“Had [the new laws] been in place for my case, the perpetrator would have been held more accountable for the seriousness of what they did.”
Sexual Assault Support Service Chief Executive Officer Shirleyann Varley said technology-facilitated abuse could cause “serious and enduring harm at any stage of life.”
“We look forward to the opportunity to review the detail of the proposed legislation and contribute our specialist advice,” she said.
