New law against racial hatred

In NSW, it is now a crime to intentionally incite hatred against people because of their race. Race includes things like colour, nationality, ethnicity, descent, or ethno-religious background.

From 15 August 2025, if a person publicly says or does something that encourages others to hate a person or group based on race, and it is done on purpose, they will face serious penalties. These include fines or even jail time.

This law does not make it illegal to talk about or quote religious texts during religious teaching or discussions. People can still share and discuss their beliefs freely, as long as it's not meant to cause hate.

What is this law about?

It is now a crime in NSW to incite hatred against a person or a group because of their race.

This law applies if:

it's done in public and
it would make a reasonable person targeted by the hatred, or a reasonable member of a targeted group, to fear harassment, intimidation, violence, or worry about their safety.

This law is about stopping hate—not free speech. It recognises that racism and hate have serious consequences. It's about keeping communities safe.

What is a crime under this law?

To be charged with an offence, all three of the following things must occur:

It happens in public.

This means anything that can be seen or heard by others—like a speech, a social media post, graffiti, or chants at a rally.
It's done intentionaly to stir up hate.

The person must intend to encourage others to hate someone or a group because of their race.
- Hatred means strong dislike, hostility, or rejection.
- Race includes things like colour, nationality, ethnicity, descent, or ethno-religious background.
It would cause a reasonable person targeted by the hatred to feel fear.

The action must be serious enough that a reasonable person targeted by it, or a reasonable member of a targeted group, would fear harassment, intimidation, violence or worry about their safety.

This law is about protecting people and making sure NSW stays a safe place for everyone.

How does this law affect my freedom of speech?

This law is about stopping hate—not free speech on subjects like religion, politics, and government policies. You can share your views, have discussions, and ask questions— as long as it doesn't encourage others to hate people based on race.

What's important:

You can't use these discussions to stir up hate against someone or a group because of their race.
It doesn't matter if you don't cause another person to hate a person or group because of their race – it's your intention and the impact on the reasonable person that are important.
Also, even if you get someone's race wrong, you can still be charged under the law.

Penalties

Individuals can face up to two years in prison and/or a $11,000 fine.

Corporations can face up to a $55,000 fine.

How do I report a crime under this law?

Call triple zero (000) if you are in immediate danger. Otherwise please report it to NSW Police.

What do faith communities need to know?

This law does not stop people from:

practicing their religion
teaching or discussing religious beliefs
quoting religious texts during sermons, lessons, or group discussions.

Faith communities can still talk about race and religion, as long as the conversation does not encourage hatred against people because of their race.

The Crimes Act 1900, Section 93ZAA(2) specifies that this law:

“…does not apply to an act that consists only of directly quoting from or otherwise referencing a religious text for the purpose of religious teaching or discussion.”

This law protects freedom of religion while making sure communities are safe from racial hatred.

What if I disagree with someone's religious beliefs?

It's not a crime to disagree with someone's religion. You can still:

talk about religious ideas
debate beliefs
quote religious texts
share your views in small or large groups.

This law does not stop respectful discussions about religion.

However, it is a crime if you intentionally use those discussions to stir up hatred against someone or a group because of their race.

This law protects freedom of religion and protects people from racial hate.

How does this law protect me from religious hatred?

This law protects people from hatred based on race. Race includes things like colour, nationality, ethnicity, descent, or ethno-religious background.

However, this law does not protect people from hatred based only on religion, unless that hatred is connected to their race.

This means if someone is targeted because of their race, including their ethno-religious identity, this law will apply. Ethno-religious identity is when a person's ethnic background and religion are strongly connected. Under this law, people from ethno-religious groups are protected from racial hatred, because their religion is deeply part of their racial or ethnic identity.

Review into hate speech

The NSW Government has started an independent review to look at whether current laws do enough to protect people from hate speech—especially vulnerable groups. This review will check if existing protections are strong enough and suggest ways to improve the law.

This review is expected to be completed by 5 November 2025.