In June 2018, Youth Action responded to the NSW Government's Review of s61HA of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). Legislative changes are essential when their impact can create a safer and more inclusive community, and give young people the best chance to develop and succeed.
We recommended that the law should provide a clearer definition of communicative consent. The current provision in the law places an emphasis on consent being the absence of 'no' rather than the presence of a 'yes.' We also recommended that a taskforce should be established to conduct a comprehensive review of the criminal justice response to complaints of sexual offences, and that the laws should be amended to provide a clearer endorsement of the communicative model of consent.