Miles Doing What Matters: Post and Boast Laws Expanded

•  New stand-alone offence for offenders caught boasting their crimes online to glorify conduct, or increase one’s reputation
• The new penalty carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment
• More offences captured by aggravating factor of social media boasting

Offenders posting their crimes on social media have been put on notice with the expansion of the Miles Government’s Post and Boast laws.

The legislation, passed by the Queensland Parliament on Thursday, creates a new stand-alone offence for publishing material on social media depicting crimes where the purpose was to glorify the conduct or increase someone’s reputation.

This includes offences involving:

• driving or operating a vehicle;
• violence or a threat of violence;
• taking, damaging, destroying, removing, using, interfering with or entering property;
• a weapon.

These laws will prohibit offenders and associated persons posting their offending behaviour online to promote and glorify the offence and evoke fear in the community.

The new offence applies to prescribed types of offending behaviour and has a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment.

The new laws also expand offences that the aggravating factor of social media boasting can apply.

These include:

• Going armed so as to cause fear
• Dangerous operation of a vehicle
• Common assault
• Assaults occasioning bodily harm
• Burglary
• Possession of a knife in a public place or a school.

The Queensland Community Safety Bill 2024 offence does not capture community members who share offending behaviour for the purpose of warning others in the community, or journalists.

Quotes attributable to Premier Steven Miles:

“Committing crimes and boasting online is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

“And now, these offenders have been put on notice.

“These laws ensure police can continue to target offenders who choose to commit crimes and glorify the conduct online.

“My government will continue to do what matters to Queensland and that means making sure our communities are safe and feel safe.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Police and Community Safety, Mark Ryan:

“These new laws are nation leading.

“Committing an offence is totally unacceptable.

“But boasting about criminal acts on social media takes the offending behaviour to another level, and it will not be tolerated.

“Following the success of ‘post and boast’ laws targeting unauthorised use of motor vehicles, the Queensland Police Service asked for the laws to be extended to other offences.

“That is what the government has done.

“Community safety is paramount and the government is backing police with strong and comprehensive laws to enable them to support the community."

Further Information:

Additional offences under to be covered by Post and Boast laws under Community Safety Bill:

Further circumstances of aggravation:

The Bill also inserts a new circumstance of aggravation, modelled on the existing circumstance of aggravation for advertising in the unlawful use or possession of motor vehicles offence, to the following offences:

• (Offence) Criminal Code section 69 Going armed so as to cause fear – (Maximum penalty under circumstance) - 3 years imprisonment
• (Offence) Criminal Code section 328A(1) Dangerous operation of a vehicle - (Maximum penalty under circumstance) 400 penalty units or 5 years imprisonment
• (Offence) Criminal Code section 335 Common assault - (Maximum penalty under circumstance) - 4 years imprisonment
• (Offence) Criminal Code section 339 Assaults occasioning bodily harm - (Maximum penalty under circumstance)  - 8 years imprisonment
• (Offence) Criminal Code section 419(1) Burglary - (Maximum penalty under circumstance)  - 16 years imprisonment
• (Offence) Weapons Act section 51 Possession of a knife in a public place or school for a first offence - (Maximum penalty under circumstance) - 100 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment - for a second or later offence - 150 penalty units or 30 months imprisonment

ENDS