Tasmania has failed to adequately criminalise the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and recordings originally taken with consent in line with other states, Community Legal Centres Tasmania says.
The legal body has labelled this legislative loophole a dangerous gap that can be weaponised by domestic abusers.
The state government has started a review of the Family Violence Act, and submissions closed recently.
In its submission, CLCT said while other Australian jurisdictions had moved to close the revenge porn loophole, Tasmanian law currently only targets images and recordings of a sexual nature made without permission.
It said this meant if a partner shared a recording that was taken consensually during a relationship, they might be beyond the reach of specific revenge porn criminal charges.
States like NSW, Victoria and Queensland have specific legislation that explicitly names the non-consensual sharing of intimate images as a unique criminal offence with its own distinct penalties.
In Tasmania, a person must not distribute a prohibited visual recording, knowing it is prohibited.
Under section 13B of the Police Offences Act, if the person in an intimate photo has a reasonable expectation of privacy at the time, the law could be applied to punish the sharer even if they were given the photo originally.
CLCT warned that the state's Police Offences Act was stuck in a pre-digital era, amid the rise in generative artificial intelligence and deepfakes.
It recommended criminalising the creation and distribution of deepfake intimate images, extending protections to unauthorised audio recordings of a sexual nature, and making it a crime to threaten the distribution of intimate images or recordings, which is a common tactic used in coercive control.
CLCT further stated that many Tasmanians were trapped in leases with their abusers because the state has not yet harmonised its tenancy laws with the rest of the country.
It recommended that victims should be able to break leases instantly using a report from a doctor or social worker as evidence to bypass the lengthy and often traumatic court process.
It said victims should not be barred from future rentals due to property damage or debt caused by an abuser, and their share of the bond should be protected by the Residential Tenancy Commissioner from being used to cover the perpetrator's actions.
REHAB RATES PLUMMET AS INCIDENTS SOAR
CLCT stated that while reported family violence incidents had surged by 65 per cent over five years, the number of offenders actually completing rehabilitation programs has plummeted by 65 per cent over the same period.
It highlighted that Tasmania's community corrections officers were juggling a workload of 18.8 offenders per staff member, which was more than double the ratio in Victoria of 8.2 offenders per staff member.
Over the same five year period, the number of family violence orders issued had increased by 48 per cent and breaches had more than doubled (111 per cent).
CLCT policy officer Ben Bartl said Tasmania was the only Australian jurisdiction that defined family violence as conduct committed by a perpetrator against a spouse or partner.
"We strongly believe that adult children who engage in violence against their parents or carers who engage in violence against their clients should also be recognised as having committed family violence," he said.
On image-based sexual abuse, Mr Bartl said police needed to be granted the power to appropriately investigate such matters, and judicial officers needed to be able to order the disposal of intimate audio and images.
He said housing for victim-survivors of family violence remained inadequate with about four people each day asking for housing support due to family violence.
"Sadly, the numbers have barely moved over the last five years," Mr Bartl said.
"It is concerning that the number of victim-survivors who are homeless when they ask for housing assistance has increased by more than one-third over the last five years with the lack of available housing options meaning that many victim-survivors are either remaining or returning to live with their perpetrator."