Under the proposed laws, using AI to generate wholly simulated humiliating, degrading or invasive images, audio or videos purporting to be of real people would be outlawed with offenders facing up to four years in prison or fines of up to $20,000.

The laws would cover images, audio and videos generated by AI that include acts of assault, violence or cases where a simulated person –purporting to be a real person– is either in a state of undress or performing acts that fall outside the standards of morality and decency that would be accepted by reasonable members of the community.

Authorities estimate as much as 90-95 percent of deepfakes are non-consensual porn; and 99 per cent of victims in deepfake porn are women.

The eSafety Commissioner has stated explicit deepfakes have increased on the internet as much as 550 per cent year on year since 2019.

Following the release of a discussion paper in August this year, the Government is separately giving consideration to the broader issue of deepfakes beyond the parameters of non-consensual sexually explicit material, such as misuse in scams, blackmail, political misinformation and fraud.