In Tasmania:

• If you’re 17 years or older, you can consent to have sex with anyone else 17 years or older, as long as the other person is not in a position of authority – like a carer, coach, teacher, employer, or anybody else with authority over you.
• It is a crime to have sex with a person under the age of 17. You might have a defence if you are both around the same age and the sex is consensual (you both agree).

Find out more about sex and the law here.

Having sex is a personal decision. Everyone has a right to decide what they do with their own bodies, including you.

Consenting (agreeing) to sex is essential both legally and ethically. To consent to sex, a person needs to freely agree to the sexual activity, and be within the legal age of consent.

It is a crime to force someone to have sex, trick them into having sex, or have sex with them if they are drunk, drugged, unconscious or asleep. 

To keep everyone safe, assume that the answer is ‘No’ until you know for sure the answer is ‘Yes’. Silence does not equal consent.

People won’t always say ‘No’ if they don’t want to do something. Sometimes they’ll let you know in other ways, like moving their bodies away from yours, pushing you away, or ‘freezing’ their body. Keep checking in with your partner to make sure they are OK to keep going. 

People can withdraw consent at any time, even during a sexual activity they previously agreed to. As soon as they don’t want to do it anymore, you must stop.