Submission on The Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024

Executive Summary

• Our concern arises from the interaction between adding new protected categories, the lowered bar of the existing and new offences, and uncertainty as to whether the definition of “force or violence” includes psychological harms.
• We strongly affirm that all people are equally valuable and that no person should suffer physical force or violence, or the threat of it, for any reason – including their religion, sex or sexuality.
• However, in some of these areas, strong disagreement has been interpreted as psychological harm or violence. The lowered bar of offence, particularly the subjective
  nature of the test in the new sections 80.2BA and 80.2BB, introduce the possibility that claims of psychological harm from robust debate will criminalise those discussions.
• We urge the Government to clarify that the definition of “force or violence” in these sections is limited to physical harm only.