Text as at 26 April 2026
This provision has not been checked by a human. The text below was read automatically from the official PDF and has not yet been verified against it, so it may differ from the provision as published — in its wording, its numbering, or where one provision ends and the next begins. For the authorised text, see legislation.vic.gov.au.

51L Defence of artistic merit or public benefit

(1)It is a defence to a charge for a child abuse material offence (other than an offence against section 51I(1)) if—
(a)the material
(i)was not produced with the involvement of a person who was, at the time it was produced, under the age of 18 years; and
(ii)possesses artistic merit; or
(b)the material is of public benefit.
(2)For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), material that is of public benefit includes material that is for a genuine medical, legal, scientific or educational purpose.
1 A is a university lecturer in psychology. During a lecture on abnormal psychology, A shows a lecture slide with examples of textual child abuse material to illustrate the type of material associated with an abnormal psychological profile. The lecture slide is of public benefit. 2 A is a photojournalist in a war zone. A takes a photo of a child victim of torture and submits it to a news organisation for publication. The photo is of public benefit.
(3)A bears the burden of proving (on the balance of probabilities) the matter referred to in subsection
(1)(a)(ii) or (b).
1The reference to A in this section is a reference to the same A referred to in the child abuse material offence provisions.
2An evidential burden applies to the matter referred to in subsection (1)(a)(i).