Privacy legalisation expected to come into effect soon could further assist in efforts to crack down on “revenge porn”.

Kathy Lynn Simmons, the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform, said that since the pandemic officials had observed a surge in revenge porn — the non-consensual sharing of intimate images or video.

Alexander White, the Privacy Commissioner, said that the Personal Information Protection Act could provide additional deterrence once it fully comes into effect.

Mr White said: “The need for these protections in our modern society is clear.

“The criminal offences that Parliament created to address the issue are an important tool to protect individuals.

“For the same reason, bringing Pipa into effect is an important step to give individuals a greater ability to control their digital lives — and, if needed, to hold their abusers accountable.”

The Criminal Code Amendment (Non-Consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Act 2021 was given Royal Assent in June 2021, enshrining in law that it is a crime to observe, record or distribute images or video of a person carrying out private or intimate acts or showing intimate parts of their body without their knowledge or permission.

The legislation further makes it an offence to threaten to distribute intimate images, even if such images do not exist.

Offenders under the Act can face a prison term of up to five years.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner said that Pipa also prohibits the sharing of “personal information, including sensitive personal information, without the affected individual’s consent or under an acceptable condition”.

The effect of the law is that in addition to being a criminal offence, revenge porn would violate Pipa, making culprits liable to civil penalties — which can include fines of up to $250,000 and two years in prison.

A spokeswoman for the office said: “Once Pipa is fully enacted, individuals affected by non-consensual intimate image sharing are able to bring a private legal action against the perpetrator.

“Under Pipa’s Section 21, individuals who suffer emotional distress are entitled to compensation determined by the court.”

The Government said in December that it intended to have Pipa legislation enacted this spring, and a spokeswoman said yesterday that the initiative was still being advanced and the time frames had not changed.

Mr White said that the rules could be introduced in phases to ease the process.

He said that Pipa legislation, which was passed in 2016 but remains largely unenacted, gives the relevant minister the authority to appoint different days for provisions of the Act to come into effect.

“Some provisions are already in effect, such as the provisions that deal with the creation and powers of the position of Privacy Commissioner,” he said “Other provisions relating to specific rights and responsibilities have not yet entered into effect.

“Our office is working closely with government personnel on a timeline and steps for bringing the law into effect, but despite speculation in the community, we have not received a timetable regarding Pipa enactment from Government other than the announcement in the Throne Speech of the intention to do so in the coming year.

“My goal is to provide significant advance notice to organisations before provisions come into effect to enable organisations to better plan and budget for the operational changes needed to develop a privacy programme.

“We will continue to provide information sessions and guidance on specific practices prior to the requirement to implement them.”