Hate Crimes (Tas)
In November 2025, the Tasmanian government passed legislation to strengthen its laws against hate crimes. This article outlines how crimes are dealt with under the Tasmanian criminal law.
Legislation
Tasmania, unlike other Australian states and territories, does not have a wide range of standalone hate crimes. However, the following legislation relates to discrimination, vilification and hate crimes:
- Anti-Discrimination Act 1998
- Sentencing Act 1997
- Police Offences Act 1935
What has changed?
In 2025, the Sentencing Amendment (Aggravating Factors) Bill 2025 passed. This Bill amended the Sentencing Act 1997, allowing courts to sentence offenders more harshly in circumstances where offences were motivated by hate, or where the victim was especially vulnerable.
Aggravating factor
One of the changes introduced by the amending legislation is that the list of aggravating factors has now been expanded. When a person is charged with an offence (for example, assault), the maximum penalty that applies increases if the offence was committed under aggravating circumstances.
In addition to the list of aggravating factors that already existed under the Sentencing Act 1997, it is now an aggravating factor if the offender was motivated to commit the offence by:
- hatred or prejudice against the victim on the basis of a relevant attribute of the victim; or
- hatred or prejudice against a group of persons on the basis of a relevant attribute of the group and a belief that the victim belonged to that group.
Relevant attributes include race, nationality, age, religiously for affiliation, language spoken, gender, sexual orientation, sex characteristics and disability.
The legislation notes that a person will be taken to have been motivated to commit an offence by hate if at the time of the offence or immediately before or after the offence, they expressed hostility, malice, or ill will towards the attribute.
Vulnerability of victim
Under section 11BA of the Sentencing Act 1997, courts that are sentencing offenders must now take into account whether the offender selected the victim due to their vulnerability or personal circumstances.
This includes:
- race, ethnicity or nationality
- age
- religious belief or affiliation
- language spoken
- gender
- sexual orientation
- sex characteristics
- disability
- the personal relationship between the victim and the offender.
If a court is satisfied that an offender selected a victim because of their vulnerability or personal circumstances, it must treat this as an aggravating factor.
Relationship to other legislation
When a person is charged with an offence motivated by hate, their conduct may also be actionable under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998. They may also be guilty of an offence under the Police Offences Act 1935.
Under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998, a person may complain to the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner about discriminatory behaviour that occurs in a range of areas of public life including employment, education, and accommodation.
When a criminal offence involves displaying Nazi symbols or making a Nazi gesture, it may also amount to an offence under the Police Offences Act 1935, which contains offences consisting of performing a Nazi gesture and displaying a Nazi symbol.
Responses to the reforms
The changes to the Sentencing Act 1997 have been met with widespread approval.
However, there have also been calls for further improvements to the state’s responses to hate crimes, and for a more holistic approach. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service suggested an education campaign be undertaken around the changes. Equality Tasmania recommended that victims of crime compensation be available to victims of prejudice and targeted violence.
Other suggestions for improvements include:
- improved police training so that police officers may better identify and respond to hate crime.
- improving police practices around data gathering and evidence collection.
- investment in prevention strategies such as community education and upskilling of justice practitioners.
- the provision of education and rehabilitation programs for perpetrators.
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Fernanda Dahlstrom is a writer, editor and lawyer. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Latrobe University), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (College of Law), a Bachelor of Arts (The University of Melbourne) and a Master of Arts (Deakin University). Fernanda practised law for eight years, working in criminal law, child protection and domestic violence law in the Northern Territory, and in family law in Queensland.