The new laws are a result of amendments to the Criminal Code Act
1995, which take effect on 1st March.
The Australian Federal Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator
Chris Ellison, wrote to all major Australian ISPs yesterday,
advising them of the strict new reporting obligations.
According to the Justice and Customs Department, an ISP or web
host will now face penalties of $11,000 for an individual and $55
000 for a corporate body if they are made aware that their service
can be used to access material that they have reasonable grounds to
believe is child pornography or child abuse material and they do
not refer details of that material to the Federal Police within a
reasonable time of becoming aware of the material's existence.
It will also be a federal offence under these new provisions,
carrying a penalty of 10 years imprisonment, for a person to use a
carriage service, such as the internet, to access, transmit or make
available child pornography or child abuse material.
"It can not be emphasised enough that behind every horrid piece
of child pornography is a tragic case of an abused defenceless
child, somewhere in the world," said Senator Ellison. "The
Australian Government is determined to lead the world in efforts to
stamp out the despicable trade in child pornography."
It does not appear that Australia is imposing an active
monitoring requirement on ISPs – only that an ISP must act upon
being made aware of illegal content. This reflects the position in
Europe under the E-commerce Directive.
