NSW hate crime laws: In June 2026, the NSW Legislative Council passed the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2026, a significant rewrite of how NSW law handles hate-motivated offending. The legislation expands post-and-boast offences to cover assault and robbery, introduces a new offence for luring victims through dating apps. It also increases the maximum penalty for publicly threatening or inciting violence based on protected attributes from 3 to 5 years’ imprisonment, with up to 7 years where violence results. Attorney General Michael Daley said the reforms “provide important protections for LGBTQIA+ people while imposing tough new penalties on thugs who commit hate-fuelled attacks.”
The Bill had a turbulent passage. The day before it cleared the upper house, the Opposition and Greens joined with Mark Latham to defeat a government urgency motion in the Legislative Council. However, the Minns Government reintroduced the Bill the same evening and passed it that night.
What the new NSW hate crime laws do
The centrepiece of the legislation is a new luring offence, something NSW criminal law has never had before.
It is now a criminal offence to use any platform, including dating apps such as Grindr or Wizz, to draw a person to a location with intent to commit a serious indictable offence against them. The charge does not require the assault to have taken place, with the act of luring a victim through deception now being a crime itself.
The post-and-boast provisions have been extended to cover serious assaults and robberies. Where footage of an attack is recorded and distributed, that distribution is now a distinct charge, not just an aggravating circumstance. The person who films and shares it faces their own offence, separate from whatever physical conduct is alleged.
Penalties for publicly threatening or inciting violence on the basis of a protected attribute, including sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion, have increased from 3 to 5 years’ imprisonment. Where that incitement results in actual violence, the ceiling rises to 7 years.
The Bill also amends the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) to lower the evidentiary burden on prosecutors trying to establish hate motivation at sentencing. Previously, that bar was high enough that most cases were prosecuted on the physical offence alone and the motivation went unrecognised by the court. The NSW Government’s full ministerial statement details the intent behind each amendment.
Attorney General Michael Daley stated
“These laws provide important protections for LGBTQIA+ people while imposing tough new penalties on thugs who commit hate-fuelled attacks.
“I’m glad the Opposition and Greens decided to back increased protections for LGBTQIA+ people, instead of trying to score points against the Government at the community’s expense.”
Why these laws were needed
The legislation was introduced in direct response to a pattern of coordinated attacks against LGBTQIA+ teenagers across NSW. A two-year ABC investigation published in February 2026 revealed that perpetrators were using dating apps to build fake profiles, lure victims to a location, assault them on camera, and distribute the footage across messaging platforms.
Under the law as it stood, prosecutors could charge the attackers with assault. What they could not do was bring a charge for the luring itself, or formally establish hate motivation as part of the offence. The Bill directly addresses each of those gaps.
What this means if you are charged with NSW hate crime laws
The new framework creates three charging scenarios that did not exist before 2 June 2026.
The luring charge is preparatory and does not require the intended offence to have been completed. If prosecutors allege a platform was used to draw a victim into position, a charge can be laid before any assault occurs. What the prosecution must establish to prove that intent is a question your defence needs to address before any plea is entered.
Post-and-boast charges can now run independently alongside assault or robbery charges. If footage of an alleged offence was recorded and shared by anyone in the chain, that distribution is prosecutable on its own.
Most broadly, hate motivation is now easier to establish at sentencing. Where a protected attribute is alleged as the reason behind an offence, that aggravation carries real weight across the full penalty range. The sentencing gap between a hate-motivated offence and an otherwise identical one has widened considerably.
These provisions are newly introduced and courts are still working through how they interact with existing criminal law. If you believe hate motivation may be raised in relation to charges you face, contact an experienced criminal defence solicitor before making any statement to police or entering any plea. If bail is also a concern, our guide to applying for bail in NSW covers what to expect at each stage.
How O’Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors can help
O’Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors represents clients across the full range of criminal charges before NSW courts.
Call (02) 9261 4281 or fill in the form here.
