Victoria’s sexual-offence law was substantially rewritten in 2022, with the introduction of an affirmative model of consent. The change reframes how consent is understood in court and how police investigate. Our newsroom has set out what the law now says, what support services do, and how reporting works — with the privacy of victim-survivors at the centre throughout.
The 2022 reforms put consent on an active, communicated footing. Silence, freezing, or absence of resistance is not consent. The law now expects each person to do something to find out whether the other person consents.
The affirmative-consent reforms
The amendments to the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) commenced in 2023 following the 2022 passage of the Justice Legislation Amendment (Sexual Offences and Other Matters) Act 2022. The headline change sits in section 36AA: a person consents to a sexual act only if they say or do something to communicate consent. Consent must be free, voluntary and given at the time of the act.
Section 36AA also lists circumstances in which there is no consent — including where the person is asleep or unconscious, where consent is given because of force, fear, harm or coercion, where the person is so affected by alcohol or another drug that they cannot consent, and where the person is incapacitated. The list is not closed; it sits alongside the general rule.
The reasonable-belief test was tightened in step. A defendant’s belief that the other person consented is only “reasonable” if they said or did something to find out — passive belief is not enough. Practitioners describe the change as a shift from a no-means-no framework to a yes-means-yes framework, with the legal weight of the change resting on the conduct of the accused at the time, not on the conduct of the complainant.
What the reforms also covered
The 2022 package was broader than affirmative consent alone. It also:
- Created and modernised offences relating to image-based sexual abuse, including non-consensual creation, distribution and threats to distribute intimate images.
- Updated the law on stealthing — the non-consensual removal of, or tampering with, a condom — confirming it constitutes sexual assault.
- Strengthened jury directions, requiring judges to give specific directions about common misconceptions (for example, that delay in reporting does not mean a complaint is false, that a complainant’s response under threat is not a measure of credibility).
- Expanded protections for complainants giving evidence, including remote-witness facilities and pre-recorded evidence in chief.
Specialist Sex Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Teams
Within Victoria Police, sexual-offence investigations are run by Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Teams, known as SOCITs. There are SOCITs across the state, staffed by detectives with specialist training in sexual-assault investigation, trauma-informed interviewing, and the legal framework that applies. SOCITs work alongside the Centres Against Sexual Assault network and forensic medical services.
SOCIT detectives conduct what are called Video and Audio Recorded Evidence (VARE) interviews. The process is structured to minimise re-traumatisation, to capture the account in a form that can be used in court, and to allow follow-up questioning without requiring the complainant to repeat the account multiple times.
SOCITs also coordinate the forensic medical examination — the Code Black response — through the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and partner hospital services. A forensic examination can be conducted whether or not the person has decided to report to police. Anonymous samples can be held while the person decides.
How to report
The decision to report to police is the survivor’s. Our newsroom does not push that decision either way, and neither, increasingly, do the support services. The pathways:
- Triple-zero (000) — for immediate danger or recent assault where evidence preservation is time-critical.
- Local police or SOCIT — directly, at any time, including for historical matters. There is no time limit on reporting a sexual offence in Victoria.
- Sexual Assault Crisis Line (1800 806 292) — 24/7, confidential, run by the Centres Against Sexual Assault network. Available whether or not a person wants to report to police.
- Centres Against Sexual Assault (CASA) — the network of specialist sexual-assault services across Victoria. CASAs offer counselling, advocacy, court support, and crisis response. Many CASAs sit alongside hospital-based forensic services in the Multidisciplinary Centre model.
- Multidisciplinary Centres — co-located police, CASA and child-protection services across Victoria, designed so a survivor does not have to retell their account at multiple agencies.
For people who want a forensic examination but are not sure about reporting, the Code Black process at major hospital services allows anonymous evidence collection. The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine can hold samples while the person considers whether to engage police.
Time and the path to charge
A common question is how long the process takes. The honest answer is: longer than anyone wants, but variable. From report to charge can run from weeks to many months, depending on complexity, the availability of witnesses and forensic results, and the workload of the relevant SOCIT and prosecution office. From charge to trial outcome can extend over a year or more once court listings and any pre-trial argument are factored in.
The Office of Public Prosecutions runs specialist sexual-offence units that handle the prosecution after police investigation. Decisions on whether to charge sit with police; decisions on whether the matter proceeds to trial in higher courts sit with the Director of Public Prosecutions.
VOCAT and victim assistance
The Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT), being progressively replaced by a new Financial Assistance Scheme under the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Act 2022, provides financial assistance to victims of violent crime including sexual offences. The scheme can fund counselling, medical expenses, loss of earnings and other recovery costs.
The new scheme is administered as an administrative process rather than the older tribunal-style hearings, and was designed to be more trauma-informed and less adversarial than its predecessor. Victim Services Operations within the Department of Justice and Community Safety supports applicants.
The bystander shift
Affirmative consent is part of a broader cultural shift in how communities understand sexual harm. The law applies to the people involved in a sexual act — but prevention work over the last decade has put bystanders, friends, families and venue staff at the centre of community responsibility. Our Watch and the Victorian Respect Victoria campaign have led the public-education work. Hospitality industry programs train staff to identify and intervene in coercive or non-consensual situations in venues. Education-sector reforms have embedded consent and respectful relationships into the school curriculum.
The bystander shift is not about making non-participants legally responsible. It is about making the conditions in which sexual harm occurs less hospitable to it.
How we report at VCN
Our editorial rules on sexual-offence reporting are strict. We do not identify victim-survivors. We follow the Our Watch national reporting principles, which sit alongside Victoria’s statutory framework on identification. Where matters are before the courts, we apply the presumption of innocence and the standard restrictions on identifying persons charged but not convicted. We do not publish details that could function as a how-to or that re-traumatise without public-interest justification. We name complainants only where they have themselves chosen to speak publicly and have had access to independent advice about doing so.
What survivors tell us they want from media
The themes are consistent: don’t sensationalise; don’t reduce the person to the worst day of their life; treat the system’s failures and successes with equal seriousness; and report in a way that helps other survivors find help, not just clicks. We try to hold to that.
Where to get help
If you are in immediate danger, call 000. The Sexual Assault Crisis Line is 1800 806 292, available 24/7. The Centres Against Sexual Assault network can be found at casa.org.au. 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is the national counselling and information service. Safe Steps (1800 015 188) supports people experiencing family violence. For ongoing emotional support, Lifeline is 13 11 14, 13YARN (13 92 76) provides culturally safe support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and Beyond Blue is 1300 22 4636. Help is available whether or not you choose to report.
