Australia

The person posts on a public social-media account, under their own name, that the Holocaust did not happen and the gas chambers are a fabrication. The post contains no threat, no call to violence, and names no living individual.

There is no Holocaust-denial offence, but several general laws reach the post. Federally, using a carriage service in a way reasonable persons would regard as offensive carries up to 5 years (Criminal Code s 474.17), and Holocaust denial can be unlawful under Racial Discrimination Act s 18C, enforced by civil complaint (Jones v Toben). At state level, NSW Crimes Act s 93ZAA (2025) punishes intentionally inciting racial hatred with up to 2 years, Victoria's Crimes Act s 195N (2025) punishes conduct likely to incite hatred or serious contempt on a protected attribute with up to 3 years, and WA Criminal Code s 77 carries 14 years; roughly 70% of Australians live where a criminal route exists on top of the federal one. No prosecution for bare denial was found; the usual consequence is an AHRC complaint or platform removal, but post-Bondi enforcement of antisemitism offences has intensified.

Sources: Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) · Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) · Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)

The person posts a public rant using slurs against an ethnic or religious group, saying the group is inferior and unwelcome in the country. No threat, no call to violence, no named individual.

The same tools apply with more force: RDA s 18C civil liability for racially offensive public acts, Criminal Code s 474.17 (offensive use of a carriage service, 5 years), NSW s 93ZAA (2 years, race only, needs a target-fear test), Victoria s 195N (3 years, covers race and religion) and WA s 77-78 (up to 14 years). Queensland's s 52A applies only where the vilification includes threats of harm. The 2026 federal Act added race-hatred as a sentencing aggravator (Crimes Act 1914 s 16A(2)(mb)). Online racial abuse is routinely investigated and charged under s 474.17, so police contact is a real prospect even where the case ends in a fine or bond; weighting by population gives about 1.

Sources: Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026 (Cth) · Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) · Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 195N

At a lawful, peaceful protest in a public square, the person burns a national flag they own and a copy of the dominant religion's scripture they own. No fire-safety rule is broken.

There is no federal flag-desecration offence; the Criminal Code Amendment (Flag Protection) Bill 2026 was removed from the notice paper on 8 Sept 2026. NSW (about 31% of the population) never abolished common-law blasphemous libel: Crimes Act s 529(2) preserves it and s 574 limits it to scoffing or reviling, which a scripture burning could be, though no prosecution has occurred since the 19th century; Tasmania's s 119 blasphemy offence has been repealed. Elsewhere the realistic charge is offensive conduct (NSW Summary Offences Act s 4: 6 penalty units or 3 months) or, in Victoria, s 195N vilification if the burning is meant to incite hatred of a religious group. Flag burnings at Invasion Day protests are normally left alone by police.

Sources: Parliament of Australia: Criminal Code Amendment (Flag Protection) Bill 2026 · Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) · Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW)

The person posts that the head of state is a criminal and a pedophile. They have no evidence and present it as their opinion of the leader.

There is no lese-majeste or insult-of-officials offence. Criminal defamation survives in the states (NSW Crimes Act s 529(3): 3 years) but requires knowledge that the matter is false, which a person voicing an honest if baseless belief may not have; Criminal Code s 474.17 (5 years) could reach a seriously offensive post. In practice the risk is civil: a pedophilia accusation without basis has no truth, honest-opinion or public-interest defence (Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) ss 25, 29A, 31), damages for non-economic loss are capped around $250,000 (indexed), and Australian politicians do sue critics (e.g. Dutton v Bazzi, Hanson-Young v Leyonhjelm).

Sources: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) · Defamation Act 2005 (NSW)

The person prints and hands out a pamphlet praising an organisation the state has banned as terrorist or extremist, saying its cause is just. The pamphlet urges no specific act, and the person has no contact with the group.

Advocating terrorism, which includes counselling, promoting, encouraging or urging a terrorist act while reckless whether someone will act, carries 7 years (Criminal Code s 80.2C); praise of a cause that urges no act sits at the edge of 'promotes'. Publicly displaying a prohibited terrorist-organisation symbol, for example a Hamas or Hezbollah logo on the pamphlet, carries up to 5 years (s 80.2HA), and the 2026 Act reversed the burden on the public-interest defences and added police directions and seizure powers. Organisations listed under the 2026 prohibited-hate-group scheme carry 7 years for membership but praise alone is not an offence. Police have investigated and charged people for displaying banned-group symbols at protests since 2024.

Sources: Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) · Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026 (Cth)

The person repeatedly refers to a named transgender public figure by their former pronouns and name in public posts, with no threats and no contact with the figure.

Misgendering is not itself an offence. The eSafety Commissioner can order removal of 'cyber-abuse material targeted at an Australian adult' (Online Safety Act s 7: intended to cause serious harm and menacing, harassing or offensive); it ordered X to remove a post misgendering a trans man, but the Administrative Review Tribunal set the notice aside in X Corp and eSafety Commissioner [2025] ARTA 852, finding no intent to cause serious harm. Criminal Code s 474.17 (5 years) and Victoria's s 195N (3 years, gender identity is protected) are possible in theory but no case applying them to misgendering was found; Tasmanian and NSW civil vilification provisions also cover gender identity. The realistic outcome is a takedown attempt and litigation over it.

Sources: Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) · X Corp and eSafety Commissioner [2025] ARTA 852 · Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)

A blogger writes that a named local businessman (a private figure) is a fraud. The claim is false, but the blogger honestly believed it after reading a news report.

Defamation is civil under the uniform Defamation Acts; the plaintiff must show serious harm to reputation (NSW s 10A), and the defendant then bears the burden of proving truth (s 25). Honest belief is no defence; reliance on a news report helps only through qualified privilege or the 2021 public-interest defence (s 29A), which requires the matter to concern an issue of public interest and a reasonable belief, which is hard for an accusation against a private businessman. Criminal defamation needs knowledge of falsity, so it does not apply. Damages for non-economic loss reach about $250,000 (indexed) and costs commonly exceed damages, so the blogger is exposed.

Sources: Defamation Act 2005 (NSW)

A journalist accurately reports, with evidence, that a sitting politician is having an extramarital affair. The politician sues for defamation and invasion of privacy.

Truth (justification) is a complete defence to defamation (Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) s 25). The statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy (Privacy Act Schedule 2, in force from June 2025) does not apply to the collection, preparation or publication of journalistic material by a journalist (Sch 2 cl 15), so the privacy claim fails. The journalist still has to prove the affair at trial if the politician presses on, and costs recovery is partial.

Sources: Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), Schedule 2 · Defamation Act 2005 (NSW)

A foreign billionaire sues a local critic in local courts over a harsh but clearly opinion-based review of their business conduct.

Australia has no general anti-SLAPP statute. Honest opinion is a defence (NSW s 31) but only if the opinion is based on proper material, and the defendant bears the burden; since 2021 the serious-harm threshold (s 10A) can be decided early and has ended some weak claims. Foreign and wealthy claimants regularly use Australian courts, which have a reputation as claimant-friendly, and a critic who wins recovers only part of the costs.

Sources: Defamation Act 2005 (NSW)

The person wants to buy a common centrefire semi-automatic rifle (e.g. an AR-15 pattern rifle with a 30-round magazine) and keep it at home.

Under the National Firearms Agreement self-loading centrefire rifles are Category D, restricted to official and professional pest-control purposes. In NSW they are prohibited firearms (Firearms Act Sch 1 item 3) for which a category D licence may only be issued for vertebrate pest animal control (s 15), and possessing one without a licence carries 14 years (s 7). Other states follow the same scheme with similar penalties, and the January 2026 Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Act added national background checks, tighter import controls and a national buyback.

Sources: Firearms Act 1996 (NSW) · Parliament of Australia: Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026

The person wants to buy a 9mm handgun and keep it loaded at home for self-defence.

Handguns (Category H) are licensed for target-shooting club members after a probationary period, and for some occupations. 'Personal protection or the protection of any other person' is expressly not a genuine reason (Firearms Act 1996 (NSW) s 12(2)), and all states require firearms to be stored locked and unloaded with ammunition separate. Possessing a pistol without a licence carries 14 years in NSW (s 7).

Sources: Firearms Act 1996 (NSW)

The person wants to carry a loaded handgun, concealed, in everyday public places.

There is no carry permit for self-defence in any state; carrying is allowed only for licensed security guards and similar occupations. Carrying a pistol without authority is unauthorised possession (NSW Firearms Act s 7: 14 years), and personal protection is not a genuine reason for any licence (s 12(2)). Unlicensed handgun carry is prosecuted as a serious offence and commonly leads to imprisonment.

Sources: Firearms Act 1996 (NSW)

The person wants to carry pepper spray, or a folding knife with a 9 cm locking blade, in public for self-defence.

Pepper spray is a prohibited weapon in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Knife carry needs a reasonable excuse that excludes self-defence: NSW Crimes Act s 93IB (2023), 4 years, and s 93IB says self-defence is not a reasonable excuse; Victoria Control of Weapons Act s 6, 1 year, s 6(3) excludes self-defence; Queensland Weapons Act s 51, 18 months for a first offence. In WA, carrying a controlled weapon without lawful excuse carries 2 years (Weapons Act 1999 s 7), but WA courts have accepted that self-defence can be a lawful excuse for pepper spray (Hall v Collins [2003] WASCA 74). Weighted by population (NSW 31% at 1, Vic 26% at 2, Qld 21% at 1, WA 11% at about 4) the law scores about 1.5. Police in NSW, Queensland and WA now use metal-detector wanding powers, and knife possession is charged often.

Sources: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) · Control of Weapons Act 1990 (Vic) s 6 · Weapons Act 1990 (Qld) s 51

The person wants to own a machine gun, or a destructive device such as an artillery piece or a grenade launcher with live rounds.

Machine guns are prohibited firearms (NSW Firearms Act Sch 1 item 1); possessing one without a licence or permit carries 14 years (s 7). Collector licences require prohibited firearms in a collection to be rendered permanently inoperable (s 20), so no ordinary citizen can lawfully own a working machine gun or live destructive device. Other states follow the National Firearms Agreement with similar bans.

Sources: Firearms Act 1996 (NSW)

At night, a stranger armed with a knife breaks into the person's home. The person shoots and kills the intruder with a lawfully held gun.

In NSW, self-defence is complete where the person believes the conduct necessary and it is a reasonable response in the circumstances as they perceive them (Crimes Act s 418); excessive force that kills reduces murder to manslaughter (s 421). Queensland (about 21%) adds a defence-of-dwelling rule allowing force to repel a person entering to commit an indictable offence (Criminal Code s 267), and WA has a home-invasion defence. There is no presumption or civil immunity: police investigate every killing, and a homeowner using a gun also faces scrutiny for breaking safe-storage rules, since a licensed gun may not be kept loaded and accessible. No systematic data on charging in such cases was found.

Sources: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) · Criminal Code (Qld) s 267

On the street, a stranger attacks the person with fists. The person could safely walk away but instead punches back once, breaking the attacker's nose.

There is no duty to retreat. Under Zecevic v DPP (Vic) (1987) the test is whether the accused believed on reasonable grounds that the force was necessary, and the chance to retreat is a factor in that assessment; NSW codifies a similar test (Crimes Act s 418). A single punch in response to an attack is usually treated as reasonable, but a broken nose can lead to a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm, with the defence argued at hearing.

Sources: Zecevic v DPP (Vic) [1987] HCA 26 · Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)

The person wants to buy a course of amoxicillin for a sinus infection without seeing a doctor.

Amoxicillin is a prescription-only (Schedule 4) medicine, and selling it without a prescription is an offence for the pharmacist, not the buyer. Private telehealth services issue prescriptions cheaply on request, and some states let pharmacists prescribe antibiotics for a few conditions such as uncomplicated urinary tract infections, but not sinusitis. Personal import of a prescription-only medicine requires a valid Australian prescription held at the time of import, up to 3 months' supply, and imports without one are seized.

Sources: TGA: Personal Importation Scheme

The person wants to take a drug approved by the EMA or FDA but not approved in their own country, for a non-terminal condition.

Under the Personal Importation Scheme an individual may import a medicine not on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods for personal use, up to a 3-month supply (15 months a year), provided they hold a valid Australian prescription if it is prescription-only. Doctors can also supply unapproved medicines through the Special Access Scheme (Category B approval or Category C notification for listed products). Imports without the paperwork are seized.

Sources: TGA: Personal Importation Scheme · TGA: Special Access Scheme

A terminally ill patient wants a drug that has passed Phase 1 trials but is not approved anywhere, and the manufacturer is willing to supply it.

Special Access Scheme Category A lets a medical practitioner supply any unapproved therapeutic good to a seriously ill patient immediately, notifying the TGA within 28 days; no prior approval is needed. A dying patient with a willing manufacturer and doctor can therefore get a post-Phase-1 drug. In practice access depends on finding a doctor willing to take clinical responsibility and on the manufacturer's supply.

Sources: TGA: Special Access Scheme

The person wants to sell one of their kidneys to a willing recipient, with surgery by licensed surgeons.

Every state bans trade in human tissue. In NSW a contract or arrangement to sell tissue for valuable consideration carries 40 penalty units or 6 months (Human Tissue Act 1983 s 32), and other states' penalties are similar. Living donors can get reimbursement of expenses and a federal leave-support payment, but not payment. No prosecutions were found; transplant units screen out paid arrangements.

Sources: Human Tissue Act 1983 (NSW)

An adult declines a vaccine the state recommends or mandates for adults (score the strictest adult mandate in force in the last 5 years).

The strictest adult measures in the last 5 years were COVID-19 vaccination directions in 2021-22: Victoria and WA required vaccination across most of the workforce, and NSW and Victoria barred unvaccinated adults from many venues for months. Refusers lost jobs, but there were no fines or forced vaccination. In Johnston v Carroll [2024] QSC 2 the Queensland Supreme Court held the police and ambulance directions unlawful. All mandates have since lapsed.

Sources: Johnston v Carroll [2024] QSC 2

A competent adult with a terminal illness and under 6 months to live asks their doctor for lethal medication to take themselves.

All six states and the ACT have voluntary assisted dying laws; only the Northern Territory (about 1%) has none. In NSW, eligibility needs a condition expected to cause death within 6 months (12 for neurodegenerative conditions), decision-making capacity, residence and two independent assessments (VAD Act 2022 s 16); Victoria's Act (s 9) is similar. Federal Criminal Code s 474.29A, on suicide-related material over a carriage service, has been read to bar VAD consultations by telehealth, which burdens rural patients.

Sources: Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2022 (NSW) · Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 (Vic) s 9

A competent adult with unbearable but non-terminal suffering (e.g. advanced multiple sclerosis) asks their doctor for the same.

State VAD laws require a condition expected to cause death within 6 or 12 months, so advanced MS without a terminal prognosis is excluded; only the ACT's 2024 Act, which has no time limit (about 2% of the population), might reach it. A doctor who helps outside the schemes commits aiding suicide: 10 years in NSW (Crimes Act s 31C), 5 in Victoria, life in Queensland and WA. No prosecutions of doctors were found, but no doctor openly does it.

Sources: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) · Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2022 (NSW)

A layperson gets lethal medication for a competent friend who has clearly asked to die, and is present when the friend takes it. No payment.

Aiding or abetting suicide carries 10 years in NSW (Crimes Act s 31C(1)) and 5 in Victoria, and longer in Queensland and WA; there is no statutory exemption for compassionate lay helpers. Police investigate such deaths, and imports of pentobarbital are seized and prosecuted. No published charging policy protects lay helpers, so the helper typically faces investigation and often a charge, with courts tending toward non-custodial sentences.

Sources: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)

The person is found with 5 grams of cannabis for personal use.

Possession of any controlled drug is a federal offence (Criminal Code s 308.1: 2 years) on top of state law. NSW possession carries 2 years (Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act s 21) with a police cannabis-cautioning scheme; Queensland's Drugs Misuse Act s 9 carries up to 15 years with police diversion; South Australia expiates simple cannabis offences with a fine (Controlled Substances Act s 45A); and the ACT allows adults to possess small quantities (Drugs of Dependence Act s 171AA). About 80% of Australians live where 5 g is a crime with up to 2 years, and 21% where the statutory maximum is higher. First-time users are usually cautioned, diverted or fined, but police stop-and-search and drug-dog operations generate many searches.

Sources: Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) · Drugs Misuse Act 1986 (Qld) s 9 · Drugs of Dependence Act 1989 (ACT) s 171AA

The person is found with one personal dose of psilocybin mushrooms or MDMA.

Possessing MDMA or psilocybin is a crime everywhere: 2 years federally (Criminal Code s 308.1) and in NSW (DMTA s 21), and up to 25 years in Queensland for schedule 1 drugs (Drugs Misuse Act s 9). Since 2024 NSW police can issue a criminal infringement notice for a small quantity instead of charging (the Early Drug Diversion Initiative), Queensland police divert first offenders, and since October 2023 the ACT treats small amounts with a fine or diversion. This coder did not open a source for the NSW and ACT diversion schemes, so their details rest on knowledge rather than a document. Repeat or non-diverted users are prosecuted.

Sources: Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) · Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) · Drugs Misuse Act 1986 (Qld) s 9

The person sells 30 grams of cannabis to another adult.

There is no legal retail cannabis market; even the ACT allows only possession and home growing. Supplying a prohibited drug in NSW carries up to 10-15 years on indictment depending on quantity, or 2 years if dealt with summarily (DMTA ss 25, 32). A first-offence 30 g sale typically ends in the Local Court with a fine or community order.

Sources: Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW)

Two adults agree to have sex for money, in private, with no third party involved.

Sex work is decriminalised in NSW (since 1995), Victoria (Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022), the Northern Territory (2019) and Queensland (2024), about 80% of the population. In WA, SA and Tasmania private one-on-one sex work between adults is not itself an offence, though soliciting, brothels or advertising are restricted. Private paid sex between two adults with no third party is lawful for both parties nationwide.

Sources: Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 (Vic)

Three consenting adults want to live together as a family, share property, and make binding arrangements for inheritance, medical decisions and parenting.

Cohabitation of three adults is lawful; bigamy covers only going through a second marriage ceremony (Marriage Act s 94). The Family Law Act recognises that a de facto relationship can exist while a person is in another one (s 4AA(5)(b)), and any 'person concerned with the care, welfare or development of the child' can seek a parenting order (s 65C), so a third adult can share parental responsibility. Wills, powers of attorney and contracts cover most of the rest, though a child has at most two legal parents and family-provision claims can override wills.

Sources: Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) · Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

Parents want to homeschool their 10-year-old using their own curriculum.

Home education is lawful everywhere with registration. In NSW a parent must register the child (Education Act 1990 s 22); an authorised person assesses the application and the Minister registers if the education will meet the Act's curriculum requirements (ss 71-72), with tribunal review of refusals; failing to enrol or register is fined (up to 25 penalty units for a first offence). Victoria registers on a learning plan with no routine visits, while NSW and WA use visits or moderation and NSW expects teaching based on its syllabuses, so a fully self-designed curriculum is constrained in the largest state.

Sources: Education Act 1990 (NSW)

The state wants to read the person's end-to-end encrypted messages, although they are suspected of no serious crime.

Interception warrants for serious offences can be issued by judges or by nominated members of the Administrative Review Tribunal, an administrative body (TIA Act ss 6DA, 46), and telecommunications metadata must be retained for 2 years and can be accessed by agencies without a warrant. Under the 2018 Assistance and Access regime, technical capability notices can require providers to build capabilities to help agencies, but may not require a systemic weakness or new decryption capability (Telecommunications Act s 317ZG). A magistrate can order a person to give a password or decryption help, with up to 5 years for refusing, or 10 for serious offences (Crimes Act 1914 s 3LA). Content of messages from a person suspected of no serious crime is legally hard to reach, but metadata is not.

Sources: Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) · Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) · Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)

The person wants a prepaid SIM card and an internet connection without giving their identity.

A prepaid mobile service cannot be activated until the provider has verified the customer's identity (Telecommunications (Service Provider — Identity Checks for Prepaid Mobile Carriage Services) Determination 2017). There is no real-name rule for online services, but since December 2025 social-media platforms must take reasonable steps to keep out under-16s (Online Safety Act s 63D), which pushes adults through age assurance. ISPs must retain metadata for 2 years.

Sources: Telecommunications (Service Provider — Identity Checks for Prepaid Mobile Carriage Services) Determination 2017 · Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth)

The person wants to pay a dealer 15,000 USD (or the local equivalent) in cash for a used car.

There is no cash-payment limit; the 2019 cash-ban bill lapsed. Car dealers are not reporting entities under the AML/CTF Act (the 2024 reforms added dealers in precious metals and stones, not vehicles), so the dealer files no report on the sale itself. Banks must file threshold transaction reports for cash movements of A$10,000 or more, so the buyer's withdrawal and the dealer's deposit are each reported to AUSTRAC.

Sources: Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth)

The person is walking down a public street with no identity document on them. They are not suspected of anything. A police officer stops them and asks who they are and to see ID.

Australia has no national ID card and no duty to carry identification on foot. Police may demand identity only in defined circumstances: in NSW when they reasonably suspect the person can help investigate an indictable offence they were near, or before giving a move-on direction (LEPRA s 11), with refusal a 2-penalty-unit fine (s 12); Victoria, Queensland and WA have similar suspicion- or witness-based powers. Absent those grounds a person may decline and walk away. In practice street checks fall disproportionately on young and Aboriginal people, and refusals can escalate to move-on directions or hindering charges.

Sources: Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW)

The person wants to found a new religion, or an association, and hold weekly meetings without registering it.

No registration or permission is needed to found a religion or association or to hold meetings; incorporation under state associations acts is optional and only gives legal personality. The only banned groups are listed terrorist organisations and, since 2026, prohibited hate groups specified by regulation (Criminal Code Part 5.3B), which a new peaceful religion would not be.

Sources: Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)

The person organises a protest of 50 people in a public square with one day's notice to nobody. It is peaceful.

No state requires a permit for a peaceful static protest. In NSW, notice to police makes an assembly 'authorised' and shields participants from obstruction offences (Summary Offences Act Part 4), but an unnotified rally is not itself unlawful; police can give move-on directions if it obstructs. NSW's December 2025 power to ban public assemblies for up to 90 days after a terrorist incident (Terrorism (Police Powers) Act Part 2 Div 3A) was declared invalid in Jarrett v State of New South Wales [2026] NSWCA 62. Queensland and SA likewise make notice optional.

Sources: Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW) · Jarrett v State of New South Wales [2026] NSWCA 62

The person publicly announces they have left the country's dominant religion, or Islam, and criticises it.

There is no apostasy law and no family-law consequence of leaving a religion. NSW's surviving common-law blasphemy (see S3) protects only against scoffing or reviling, not argument (Crimes Act s 574), and has not been used in over a century.

Sources: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)

The person runs a free, non-commercial online group for women. They refuse membership to anyone they judge to be male, including a transgender woman who applies. She complains.

The Sex Discrimination Act bans gender-identity discrimination in providing services 'whether for payment or not'. In Tickle v Giggle the Full Federal Court held that excluding a trans woman from a women-only app was unlawful direct discrimination and raised damages to $20,000 ([2026] FCAFC 64), and the High Court refused special leave on 10 Sept 2026. But s 39 exempts a 'voluntary body' (a not-for-profit association) when it decides who to admit as members, and the court in Lesbian Action Group v AHRC [2026] FCA 432 accepted that such a group is likely covered for membership, though not for public events; NSW's Anti-Discrimination Act s 57 has a similar exception. A free, non-commercial group should fall in the exemption, but a group run by one person may be argued not to be a 'body', and defending an AHRC complaint is costly.

Sources: Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd v Tickle [2026] FCAFC 64 · Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) · Lesbian Action Group Inc v AHRC [2026] FCA 432

The person and 1,000 others form a political party whose platform is to stop immigration by people of one race and repeal anti-discrimination law, by peaceful and lawful means. They apply to register it and run candidates.

Federal registration needs 1,500 members and a permissible name (Commonwealth Electoral Act ss 123, 129), and no law bars a racist platform. But since January 2026 the executive can specify an organisation as a 'prohibited hate group' by regulation, on ministerial satisfaction after ASIO advice that it has engaged in or advocated hate crimes. Membership then carries 7 years, and directing or recruiting carries 15 (Criminal Code ss 114A.4, 114B.1-114B.3). The White Australia Party, an association of 1,778 members founded by former National Socialist Network leaders with this kind of platform, was banned on 16 May 2026 before it could register (Criminal Code (Prohibited Hate Group—White Australia) Regulations 2026). The High Court refused interim relief ([2026] HCASJ 15, 17), heard the validity challenge on 8-9 Sept 2026, and has reserved judgment. A strictly peaceful party should not meet the listing criteria, but the only real case was banned.

Sources: Criminal Code (Prohibited Hate Group—White Australia) Regulations 2026 · White Australia Party Inc v Commonwealth [2026] HCASJ 17 · Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026 (Cth)

The person is a junior civil servant. Off duty and under a pseudonym, they post sharp criticism of their department's policy and of the minister. They reveal nothing confidential. They are identified.

APS employees must 'at all times' behave in a way that upholds the APS Values and the integrity and good reputation of their agency (Public Service Act s 13(11)). In Comcare v Banerji [2019] HCA 23 the High Court unanimously upheld the dismissal of an immigration-department employee for anonymous tweets criticising the department's policies and its minister, holding the implied freedom of political communication did not protect her. State public-service codes are similar, so a junior civil servant can be fired and the dismissal will stand.

Sources: Comcare v Banerji [2019] HCA 23 · Public Service Act 1999 (Cth)

The person wants to move abroad permanently, taking 1 million USD of savings and shares.

Ceasing to be an Australian resident triggers CGT event I1, a deemed disposal of assets that are not taxable Australian property, such as foreign or listed shares, at market value (ITAA 1997 s 104-160). An individual can instead elect to treat those assets as taxable Australian property, deferring the tax until sale but keeping them in the Australian tax net (s 104-165). There are no capital controls; cash of A$10,000 or more carried across the border must be declared. Superannuation generally cannot be withdrawn before preservation age.

Sources: ITAA 1997 s 104.160 (CGT event I1) · ITAA 1997 s 104.165

The person, who already holds another citizenship, wants to renounce this one.

An adult who is a national of another country may apply to renounce (Australian Citizenship Act s 33); the Minister must approve once identity and foreign nationality are established, but may refuse during a war in which Australia is engaged and must refuse if renunciation is not in Australia's interests. The fee is A$320, about US$210 (Citizenship Regulation 2016, Sch 3 item 21).

Sources: Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) · Australian Citizenship Regulation 2016

Police find 20,000 USD in cash in the person's car at a traffic stop. They charge no crime.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) a court can order forfeiture of property suspected of being the proceeds of an indictable offence without any conviction (s 49), on the civil standard after a restraining order, and the owner must litigate to exclude it. States have parallel civil confiscation schemes, including NSW's Criminal Assets Recovery Act and WA's unexplained-wealth regime. Police routinely seize large cash sums at traffic stops as suspected proceeds of crime.

Sources: Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth)

The person is arrested for a non-violent offence carrying up to 2 years in prison. They have a home and a job.

An arrested person must be taken before a court or bail authority promptly; NSW limits pre-charge detention to an investigation period of up to 6 hours, extendable by a detention warrant (LEPRA Part 9). For a non-violent offence carrying 2 years, the NSW Bail Act unacceptable-risk test (s 19) normally leads to police or court bail with conditions, and money bail is uncommon. Australia's remand population is high, but it is concentrated among people charged with violent or repeat offences.

Sources: Bail Act 2013 (NSW) · Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW)

The person wants to build a 20 m² wooden shed on their own rural land.

In NSW (about 31% of the population) a shed is exempt development up to 50 m² on rural land (zones RU1-RU6, R5) and 20 m² elsewhere, subject to height and setback standards (Codes SEPP 2008 cl 2.18). Victoria exempts only freestanding Class 10a buildings up to 10 m² from a building permit (Building Regulations 2018 Sch 3 item 1), and Queensland, WA and SA have similar 10-15 m² thresholds, so a 20 m² shed there needs a building permit, issued on objective criteria. Weighting gives about 7.

Sources: State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (NSW) · Building Regulations 2018 (Vic) Sch 3