Archive Article

Age of Consent

The Age of Consent and Gay Men in New South Wales

The age of consent for gay men in NSW is 18 while heterosexuals and lesbians are able to consent to sex at 16. For a fact sheet with more information on the law and its impact, click the link on the right column.

In 2001, Richard Roberts and Peter Maplestone of the School of Social Work at the University of New South Wales completed researched into the impact on young gay men, The Age of Consent and Gay Men in New South Wales.
Asummary of the key findings is also available.

GLRL has been lobbying hard on age of consent reform for some time and has now got the issue back on the political agenda. We have made it very clear to parliamentarians, particularly the Government, that the community has run out of patience on this one. Important developments include the election of John Brodgen as Leader of the Opposition. Brogden is on the record as supporting an equal age of consent. The Premier, Bob Carr also told Parliament in April 2002 that he could "think of no substantial argument against introducing a uniform age of consent".