PoliticalClaims.au

Arguments supporting the claim's concern:

Critics argue that victims might find it confusing that federal regulation (platform removal) proceeds through civil penalties while prosecution of individuals occurs through state laws. This creates a perception of inconsistency [14]. The claim raises a legitimate question about legislative clarity and victim protection coordination.

Legitimate explanations and context:

1. Constitutional limitations: Australia's Constitution divides power between Commonwealth and states. Criminal law is primarily a state matter (section 51 of the Constitution). The Commonwealth has limited power to create criminal offences, restricted to specific areas like crimes against the Commonwealth, using Commonwealth facilities, or interstate matters [15].

2. Efficient regulation: Having the eSafety Commissioner (federal) regulate platforms quickly and standardly across all states, while state police/courts handle individual perpetrators, provides coordination. Multiple states don't need to individually regulate the same platforms [16].

3. Pre-existing state frameworks: States had already criminalized image-based abuse before the Online Safety Act 2021. The Coalition strengthened federal platform regulation without needing to displace existing state prosecutions [5].

4. High platform compliance: The 24-hour removal requirement has proven effective. Industry cooperation has achieved removal rates exceeding 90%, minimizing ongoing harm while individual cases proceed through state courts [9].

5. 2024 expansions: The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Coalition government's final years / Labor continuation) added federal doxxing offences, expanding federal criminal jurisdiction [10].

Comparison to Labor's approach:

Labor governments have not restructured this framework upon returning to power in 2022. They've instead built upon the Coalition's Online Safety Act 2021, confirming the federal-state split is the intended model [13].

Key context: This is not unique to the Coalition - it's a constitutional feature of Australian federalism that requires coordination between federal platform regulation and state individual prosecution. The evidence shows this system achieves high compliance rates for content removal while state courts handle criminal cases.