Victorian hate speech laws to be expanded and strengthened

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The Victorian government has been reviewing the state’s hate speech laws for several years and is about to strengthen the laws by significantly lowering the threshold for police to bring criminal charges, and expand the laws to protect people who are vilified based on disability, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Naomi Levin

Some organisations are concerned about how the expansion changes may impact religious freedom, while others argue that the expanded laws are necessary to protect the vulnerable in the community.

The proposed amendments to the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 (RCA) are expected to be tabled in Victorian parliament later this month, for full debate in the new year.

The current RCA aims to protect Victorians from vilification because of their race or religion. People who are vilified for other reasons are not protected by the current laws. The Victorian Government says the changes will better protect Victorians from vilification and make the law more effective.

A Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry in 2021 found that the law does not do enough to prevent or address vilification.

The Government’s background information on the proposed changes explains, “Vilification is more commonly known as hate speech, but could also be a broader range of acts or behaviour. Vilification undermines Victoria’s social cohesion as a multicultural and inclusive society. The harm caused can be profound, affecting people’s physical and psychological wellbeing, as well as whole communities’ ability to participate in daily life.”

The changes will include two new serious vilification criminal offences with higher maximum penalties in the Crimes Act 1958: an incitement offence and a threat offence. These offences would prohibit intentional and reckless behaviour that occurs in private or public, including online.

Two civil protections will be introduced into the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, a modified incitement-based protection and a new harm-based protection. These protections will incorporate public conduct, whether in person or online, that is hateful or incites hate.

Naomi Levin, CEO of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) said, “The Jewish community welcomes the Victorian Government’s announcement it will strengthen protections against hate speech and hate conduct.

“While these reforms were first proposed three years ago, the need could not be more urgent in Victoria today. Over the past year, there have been hundreds of reports vilification of Jewish people at the MCG, in Melbourne’s CBD, at universities and in local workplaces, which while heinous, largely do not meet the current threshold for prosecution.

“The current Racial and Religious Tolerance Act is weak and has shown itself to be inadequate to protect minority communities, including Jewish Victorians. You can count on one hand the number of successful prosecutions under the current laws, and of those prosecuted, the penalties have not acted as a deterrent.

“The JCCV will continue to work closely with the Victorian Government to ensure our Jewish community is able to live safely and free of vilification in Victoria.”

Some religious groups, such as the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, the Islamic Council of Victoria and the Australian Christian Lobby have expressed concerns that there may be insufficient protection in the expanded laws for religious teachings and belief.

But Victoria’s Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said, “If there are communications that are done in reason, in genuine good faith observance of religious practice, that will be an exception under the laws as it currently is.”