In February 2022, every State and Territory Education Minister
agreed that all Australian high school students will be taught
about coercion in sexual relationships and how to seek, give and
deny consent. This came one year after Chanel Contos launched her
consent education petition that sparked new conversations across
Australia about consent. The new curriculum will be taught from
2023.
NSW and Victoria already have curriculums which include consent,
but these will now be aligned with the national curriculum.
Not coincidentally, the NSW and Victorian parliaments have been
reviewing the criminal law about consent.
In NSW, changes to the consent provisions in the Crimes Act
1900 were passed in November 2021 and came into force on 1
June 2022. Also in November 2021, the Victorian Government
announced a similar reform to an affirmative consent model in
Victoria, with proposed legislation to be introduced to Parliament
during 2022.
