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Country

Australia

Scores
83.0/100
Overall
88.6/100
Governance and accountability
80.0/100
Prevention
70.0/100
Healing
85.3/100
Justice

East Asia & the Pacific

1st

Overall

1st

Governance and accountability

1st

Prevention

4th

Healing

1st

Justice

G20

1st

Overall

1st

Governance and accountability

1st

Prevention

8th

Healing

1st

Justice

Shared rank — one or more countries have the same score.

Background indicators
GDP per capita
64407.48
Gini coefficient
34.3
Rule of Law Index
0.8
Gender Inequality Index (GII)
0.06
Women in parliament
46.0
Gender gap in educational attainment
0.99
LGBTQ Equality Index
75.0
Birth registration
100.0
Internet penetration rate
97.06
Online child sexual abuse
3.3
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Australia ranks 1st overall with a score of 83 out of 100.

1st
within East Asia and the Pacific
out of 16 countries
1st
in its upper income classification
out of 14 countries
5.7
million children in Australia
epresents 1.2% of the of the region's total population under the age of 18.

Progress through data, policy, and investment

Australia’s first-ever Child Maltreatment Study of 2023 showed a high national prevalence of sexual violence against girls (37%) and boys (19%). The study shed light on important changes over time, with a decline in sexual violence perpetrated by adults (12%) and an increase in perpetration by adolescents (19%), among youth ages 16-24. While the prevalence remains high, encouraging declines in sexual violence against children by adults shows the impact of protective policies and programs even as increasing sexual violence by adolescents must be addressed.

Australia’s National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse (2021–2030) and First Commonwealth Action Plan (2021-2024) serve as a roadmap for change, outlining clear activities, roles and responsibilities, and costs. These plans were developed in consultation with children and youth. 

Australia is one of just two countries to have a government-supported National Survivors Council, in this case focused on broader lived experience of domestic, family and sexual violence.

It is one of nine that includes comprehensive life-skills sexual education in their national curricula, including the risks of online abuse and exploitation and child abuse identification, disclosure, and help-seeking.

Fewer than one-third of countries, including Argentina, Kenya, Nepal, South Africa, Venezuela, banned corporal punishment in all settings, while Australia and the United Kingdom have not.

 

What remains: Closing the gaps in protection

Despite this progress, gaps persist. One in three girls and one in five boys experiences sexual violence in childhood in Australia. There is a need to double down on progress made and to address growing risks.

While the Index tracks whether laws and policies are in place, it does not capture the quality or reach of their implementation.

Brave Movement advocates in Australia have also raised concerns about gaps between policy and practice, particularly in cases of intrafamilial sexual violence. While legal frameworks are in place, prevention, healing, and justice are not consistently implemented across the country. In October 2026, survivor advocates are preparing to launch a national walk to bring visibility to this issue and are calling for a Royal Commission — an important opportunity to strengthen accountability and ensure survivor experiences inform future action.

Leadership brings responsibility. Closing these gaps will require action like:

  • Leading globally by advancing action on intrafamilial sexual violence, including through a dedicated national inquiry, such as a Royal Comission, to ensure stronger, more consistent protection and implementation across all states and territories
  • Banning corporal punishment of children in all settings
  • Raising the legal age of sexual consent to 18 with a close in age exemption
  • Eliminating exceptions to the established legal age of marriage of 18
  • Explicitly define grooming of children for sexual purposes within key legislation 
  • Ratifying key protective international legal instruments
  • Adding specific commitments to the national action plan for sexual violence against children
  • Legally mandating training for children’s medical providers on sexual violence against children
  • Increasing victim and survivors’ access to medical care in all regions
  • Expanding access to integrated service delivery for health, psychosocial, legal, and justice services in all regions
  • Establishing government-funded legal aid for all victims and survivors of sexual violence by creating a right to formal legal support from an attorney, specially trained support person or court-appointed guardian to uphold the child's best interest during court proceedings.
  • Eliminating the principle of double criminality in extradition legislation
  • Increase overall budget transparency

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Data driving change

Third Richest Nation

www.bravemovement.org/campaigns/third-richest-nation

A world without childhood violence would be $7 trillion richer. This nation isn’t real. Its wealth could be. Brave Movement's survivor-led advocacy campaign at the G20 in 2025 pressured decision makers to invest in prevention, healing and justice to create stronger, happier nations.

#BeBrave G7 Scorecard 2025

www.bravemovement.org/g7

By evaluating each G7 nation’s progress on vital policy measures we're drawing global attention to the global, silent pandemic of sexual violence against children. This is a crisis that undermines the G7's commitment to building secure, prosperous, and equitable societies. Kids need bold leadership and decisive action now to be safe and thrive.

Break the record

www.togetherforgirls.org/en/press/a-record-breaking-event-now-governments-must-deliver

We broke the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ for the most countries represented at a childhood violence summit! With 120 governments attending, this first ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children was the largest organized event to address this issue on a global scale. Most importantly, as a result, we also broke the world’s record of inaction against childhood sexual violence.