Sexual offences in Queensland are governed by the Criminal Code Act They include rape, sexual assault and other offences.
Most sexual offences against adults involve sexual acts that are non-consensual. The only sexual offence involving adults that does not involve a lack of consent is incest, which can be proven even if the act was consensual.
The Act also contains sexual offences against children. Consent is defined under section of the Act as consent freely and voluntarily given by a person who has the cognitive capacity to give consent. A person does not validly consent if their consent was obtained:.
The most serious sexual offence against adults is the offence of rape, which is sometimes called sex without consent. Under section , rape is punishable by a maximum penalty of imprisonment for life. The act defines rape as:. Unlike other Australian jurisdictions, in Queensland rape does not include the continuation of sexual intercourse where the complainant has initially consented to sex but subsequently withdrawn their consent or where the accused realises that the complainant is not consenting after intercourse has started.
Under section of the Act it is an offence to:. A sexual assault may consist of non-consensual sexual touching. It may also consist of unwanted sexualised speech, or a threat of unwanted sexual touching. The maximum penalty for a sexual assault is 10 years imprisonment.
