The legal age for consensual anal sex in Queensland has been lowered to 16 years, in line with other consensual sexual activity, and the word "sodomy" removed from the Criminal Code.
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The Queensland Parliament voted to remove the longstanding source of discrimination in Queensland's Criminal Code on Thursday night.
Previously in Queensland, the age of consent was 18 for anal intercourse but 16 for all other sexual activity.
An panel of health experts met in May this year to consider changes to the Criminal Code and found that bringing the age of consent for anal intercourse in line with other sexual activity would improve sexual health.
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Cameron Dick said the changes reflected the government's focus on sexual health rather than stigmatising relationships.
So proud #Palaszczuk Government just passed laws to standardise age of consent @QLDLabor #equallove #abouttime pic.twitter.com/KCNR2HCZbC— Jackie Trad (@jackietrad) September 15, 2016
"The expert panel considered that the current laws may lead to people feeling compelled to withhold information about their sexual history from health practitioners," he said.
"This may be because they fear possible legal consequences for themselves or their partner.
"Withholding this information could have serious implications for a young person's medical treatment, particularly as unprotected anal intercourse is the highest-risk behaviour for transmission of HIV."
Queensland AIDS Council executive director Michael Scott welcomed the reform and said the disparity between the ages of consent had been a barrier to equal healthcare access.
"We were concerned that with the inequality of age of consent, young people who are sexually active are reluctant to access sexual health services including HIV and other STI testing and preventative health education for fear of being prosecuted," he said.
The amendment to the Criminal Code brings Queensland into line with other Australian jurisdictions.
The word "sodomy" was also replaced with "anal intercourse".
Queensland Opposition health spokesman John-Paul Langbroek said while the LNP did not oppose the changes, he was concerned the legislation was "very light on any real detail to better inform and educate young people".
"While the bill before us mentions time and time again that it will work to provide information to support safe and healthy sexual relationships, upon closer inspection the Queensland Sexual Health Strategy actually contains little to no detail on how this will be delivered," he said.
"There is also no information in the Queensland Sexual Health Strategy that mentions advice about education programs that refer to physical side-effects of sexual activity on bodies that may not have developed completely or the mental health aspect."
