Judges would decide hate and terror sentences again
In 2025 Parliament made judges give set minimum jail terms for some hate and terror crimes. Senator Mehreen Faruqi wants judges to have the final say on sentences again. A sentence is the punishment a judge gives.
Official name: Crimes Amendment (Repeal Mandatory Minimum Sentences) Bill 2025
- The Hate Crimes Act 2025 made judges give at least a set jail term for some hate and terror crimes.
- This bill would remove those set minimum jail terms.
- Judges would again pick the sentence to fit each case, up to the top limit.
- It would only apply to crimes done after it starts.
- It is a private bill, not from the government. Senator Mehreen Faruqi brought it, and it has not been debated.
Who it affects
- People found guilty of the hate and terror crimes it covers: A judge could give you less than the current minimum jail term if your case called for it.
- Judges: You would get back the power to set any sentence up to the top limit for these crimes.
- Victims and communities targeted by hate crimes: Sentences would depend on the judge's view of each case, with no set floor.
- First Nations people: First Nations people are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Senator Faruqi says set minimum terms hit you harder, and this bill would remove some of them.
Mandatory jail terms since 2025
Usually, a law sets the most a person can get for a crime. A judge then picks the right sentence below that.
A set minimum sentence is different. It says the judge must give at least a certain amount of jail time, whatever the facts. These are also called mandatory minimums.
In 2025 Parliament passed the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Act 2025. It added set minimum sentences for a group of crimes in the Criminal Code, the main list of federal crimes. These include some hate crimes and some terror crimes.
Senator Mehreen Faruqi says set minimum terms are unfair. She says they hit First Nations people and other groups pushed to the edges of society the hardest.
She says they weaken judges' freedom to decide. She says they harm the right to a fair trial.
Minimum sentences removed
The minimum jail terms sit in a table in the Crimes Act 1914. The bill would delete the rows added in 2025.
Some rows cover hate crimes in the Criminal Code. These were part of the 2025 changes.
Other rows cover three chapters of the Criminal Code, numbered 101, 102 and 103. These deal with terror attacks, terror groups and giving money to terror.
The top punishments for these crimes would not change. The bill only removes the floor.
Say a young person who has never broken the law before is found guilty of one of these crimes. They only played a small part. Today the judge must still give at least the minimum term.
Under this bill, the judge could weigh the person's age, part in the crime and life story. The judge could then pick a lower sentence.
Sentence discount wording restored
Another part of the Crimes Act points to the new table rows. The bill takes out that pointer so the law still reads correctly.
Another part lets a judge cut a minimum sentence by up to 25% if the person helped police. The 2025 law changed its words to fit the new crimes.
The bill puts the words back the way they were. Back then they only talked about helping with the crime itself, or with a federal child sex crime.
Waiting in the Senate
If passed, the law would start the day after it was signed into law. It would only apply when the whole crime happened after that date.
Senator Faruqi brought the bill into the Senate, Parliament's second house, on 26 March 2025. She spoke on its main idea that day.
It ran out of time when that Parliament ended on 21 July 2025. It was put back on the Senate's to-do list on 23 July 2025.
It has not been debated or voted on. To become law, it would need to pass the Senate and then the House of Representatives. Then the Governor-General, who stands in for the King, would need to sign it.
Its journey through Parliament
| 26 Mar 2025 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 26 Mar 2025 | Senate: Second reading moved |
| 21 Jul 2025 | Senate: Lapsed at end of Parliament |
| 23 Jul 2025 | Senate: Restored to Notice Paper |