In a significant move to combat emerging digital threats, Independent MP Kate Chaney introduced the Criminal Code Amendment (Using Technology to Generate Child Abuse Material) Bill 2025 to the Australian Parliament on July 28. The legislation targets the growing problem of artificial intelligence being weaponized to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The bill would make it illegal to download, possess, or distribute AI technology specifically developed to produce CSAM, as well as to scrape or collect data for training such tools. "Currently, possession of these images is illegal, but it's not illegal to possess these particular types of AI tools that are designed for the sole purpose of creating child sexual abuse material," Chaney explained.
The proposed legislation contains specific carve-outs for law enforcement and researchers while focusing on criminal misuse. It follows a roundtable on AI-facilitated child exploitation that called for urgent action, highlighting how AI is increasingly being used to create deepfakes and generate child abuse material, creating potential for exploitation, blackmail, and bullying.
Independent MP Zali Steggall, who seconded the bill, described the issue as "every parent's worst nightmare," noting that when criminals download this technology, it can have lifelong impacts on children. Child safety advocates have welcomed the move, with Dannielle Kelly from the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children emphasizing that real children are always harmed in the process.
The bill represents part of a global trend toward regulating harmful AI applications. Earlier this year, the United Kingdom introduced similar legislation, with its Home Office proposing a Crime and Policing Bill that would make it illegal to possess and distribute information on how to use AI to generate child sexual abuse material.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland stated that keeping vulnerable Australians safe is the government's priority, and they will give appropriate consideration to the private member's bill. Chaney has urged swift action, stating, "We need these guardrails with urgency. My concern is, amidst the paralysis of a broad review of AI, we have these very clear areas of harm that go unaddressed for months at a time."