Victoria’s anti-vilification framework is in the middle of its biggest overhaul in more than two decades. The Justice Legislation Amendment (Anti-vilification and Social Cohesion) Act 2024 — passed in early 2025 — replaces the long-standing Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 and substantially expands the people, conduct and remedies the law reaches. Eliza Hartman has been pulling apart the legislation, the parliamentary research notes and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission’s published material to give readers a clear picture.
The headline reform is an expansion of the protected attributes from race and religion to also include disability, gender identity, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, and personal association with a person identified by reference to any of those attributes. The reforms also create new criminal offences for serious vilification and modernise the civil complaint pathway through VEOHRC.
What the old law covered, and where it fell short
The Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 made unlawful the public conduct that incites hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule of, a person or class of persons on the ground of race or religious belief. It also created criminal offences for serious racial or religious vilification — conduct that intentionally incited hatred and threatened or incited physical harm.
The civil pathway through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal — used cautiously over two decades — produced a small body of case law but very few criminal prosecutions. Successive parliamentary inquiries identified two structural problems: the protected attributes were narrower than the conduct Victorians were experiencing, and the criminal provisions were drafted in a way that made successful prosecution rare.
What the new framework does
The Justice Legislation Amendment (Anti-vilification and Social Cohesion) Act 2024 makes several substantial changes. The published reform package, drawing on the Parliament of Victoria research note and the Victorian Government’s plain-language summary, includes:
- Expanded protected attributes. Race and religion remain. Added: disability, gender identity, sex, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, and personal association with someone identified by reference to those attributes. Some categories — for example, homelessness, immigration status and sex worker status — were considered during the parliamentary process, with parts incorporated and others flagged for further work.
- New criminal offences. The Act creates updated serious vilification offences sitting in the Crimes Act, including offences targeting incitement of hatred and threats of physical harm or property damage on the basis of a protected attribute.
- Modernised civil pathway. The civil framework continues to flow through the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission with onward referral to VCAT for unresolved complaints. The Commission’s investigative and conciliation powers are enhanced.
- Defences and exceptions. The legislation preserves defences for public-interest conduct, genuine artistic, academic and religious expression, and reasonable comment on matters of public interest, with structured tests rather than open-ended exceptions.
When does it actually start?
The Act passed Parliament in early 2025. The provisions commence on dates set by proclamation, with a backstop default commencement of 18 September 2027 if not proclaimed earlier. The Government has signalled an intention to proclaim provisions in stages, with criminal offences and the expanded civil pathway sequenced to allow VEOHRC, Victoria Police and the Department of Justice and Community Safety to prepare implementation guidance.
For Victorian readers, the practical takeaway is that the substantive shift in the law is now law, but the operative date for any specific provision needs to be checked against the proclamation record. Our newsroom will continue to flag commencement dates as they are made.
How the criminal offences work
The Act creates two main categories of criminal offence. The first targets intentional incitement of hatred against a person or class on the basis of a protected attribute. The second targets conduct that, on the basis of a protected attribute, threatens physical harm or property damage. The fault elements (intention or recklessness) and the public-conduct requirement mean that ordinary disagreement, criticism or contested public debate continue to sit outside the criminal threshold.
The maximum penalties for these offences are significant — at the top of the scale, comparable to other serious public-order offending. The actual penalties imposed will depend on the conduct and the circumstances; the Sentencing Council will, in time, accumulate sentencing data that will give readers a clearer picture.
The civil pathway: how a complaint moves
For most Victorians, the civil pathway is more relevant than the criminal one. A complaint about vilification typically begins with a written complaint to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, which can investigate, attempt conciliation between the parties, and, if conciliation fails, refer the matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a binding decision. VCAT can order remedies including apologies, retractions, compensation and conduct-restraining orders.
The Commission has indicated that under the expanded framework it will prioritise both individual complaints and broader investigations into conduct affecting a class of persons. That dual focus — individual harm and systemic patterns — has been a feature of overseas equality-commission practice and is now firmly part of the Victorian model.
Where Victoria Police fits
Victoria Police’s role under the framework is concentrated on the criminal offences. Members of the public who experience or witness conduct that they believe meets the criminal threshold can report to Victoria Police directly, with serious matters referred to specialist investigators. The civil pathway sits with VEOHRC; the criminal pathway with police and the Office of Public Prosecutions.
Members of the public should not feel they need to choose. Conduct that meets the criminal threshold can be reported to police while a parallel civil complaint is lodged with the Commission. The two systems are designed to operate alongside one another.
Free expression and the boundaries of the law
The Act has been the subject of substantial public debate. The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission has welcomed the reforms as overdue protection for communities long exposed to harm. Faith leaders and civil-liberties organisations have engaged with both support and concern. Religious and academic institutions have sought clarity around the defences for genuine religious, academic, journalistic and artistic expression.
Our newsroom is not a party to that debate, but we note plainly that the legislation preserves defences for public-interest conduct, fair comment and genuine religious, academic and artistic expression, with structured tests applied in any individual case. Whether the balance struck is the right one is a question that will be tested through cases over the coming years.
What complaints look like in practice
The Commission’s published case material shows that complaints typically involve sustained or targeted conduct rather than one-off comments. Online conduct — sustained harassment, organised campaigns, doxxing-type attacks linked to a protected attribute — has featured heavily in recent complaint data. So has conduct in workplaces, schools and public-facing services where the perpetrator is identifiable and the harm is documented.
What to watch in the rest of 2026
Three milestones to track:
- Proclamation dates for substantive provisions of the Act.
- VEOHRC’s first published guidance under the expanded framework.
- Initial referrals or prosecutions under the new criminal offences, which will begin to shape sentencing practice.
If you have been targeted
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission accepts complaints under the expanded framework (1300 292 153). Victoria Police accepts reports of criminal conduct on the police assistance line (131 444), or through your local station; in an emergency, dial triple zero. Specialist legal support is available through Victoria Legal Aid (1300 792 387) and community legal centres.
If hate-based conduct is causing distress, Lifeline (13 11 14) and Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) are available 24 hours a day. QLife (1800 184 527) provides specialist support for LGBTIQ+ Victorians.
