In January, an Indian national on a visitor visa had to face court in Perth after being charged with possessing “child exploitation” and “other abhorrent material” on two of his mobile phones.
The 32-year-old will be deported after he completes two months in jail for carrying the ‘objectionable material’ -all banned under Australian law.
The said case is just one of an increasing number of defaulters apprehended by the Australian Border Force in recent times.
“Visitors need to be aware that possession of objectionable material is viewed very seriously under Australian law," ABF Regional Commander for Western Australia, Rod O’Donnell recently said in a statement.
What is banned/illegal under Australian law?
Banned material includes child pornography, bestiality, explicit sexual violence, degradation, cruelty and non-consensual sex.
In more detail, the lists “publications, films, computer games and any other goods that describe, depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence, terrorist acts or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults are not allowed.”
What is the penalty for violation of this law?
Anyone found in possession of the ‘objectionable material’ that violates the law may face up to 10 years in jail in addition to confiscation of their electronic goods, prosecution and/or a fine up to $525,000.
Implementation of the law
When travelling Down Under, all incoming travellers are required to fill out ‘Passenger Cards’ which require them to identify themselves and declare what they‘re bringing into the country at the time of entry.
Since September 2009, it is essential for all passengers to also declare if they’re carrying any pornography be it on their smartphones or laptops.
This means that if a passenger doesn’t declare, but has adult content on their laptop or phone, he /she is breaking the law. And if they do declare, the customs officials are going to go through the stash.
So is there a special screening process?
ABF officials have broad powers to peek into your electronic devices to check whether you might be carrying some banned content. They even have the right to confiscate your device and/or copy the contents. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re a citizen or simply a visitor.
More often, screenings are conducted on the basis of the background information that is handed out by respective airlines to the Home Affairs Department.
ABF claims its officers are trained to identify travellers who may be attempting to carry prohibited material, clarifying that digital searches are often not random.
Image for representation only Source: sydneyairport.com.au
“Tackling child exploitation is an operational priority for the ABF and our officers are highly skilled at identifying people at our airports who are attempting to carry this abhorrent material across the border,” said Commander O’Donnell.
But the question remains, if the law is so explicit and the offence so serious, why travellers from India are often caught unawares when they arrive at the Australian shores.
Madhur *(surname withheld) who operates his own travel agency in Patiala in the north Indian state of Punjab feels most educated passengers are aware of the Australia law around pornography, but it’s the first time travellers who are usually “unaware” of the seriousness of the offence.
“See, educated people from big cities will not do something as silly as travelling with such content. It is usually these young first-time travellers or students from villages in Punjab who usually get embroiled and are often deported straight from the airport,” said Mr Madhur.
When questioned if he warns all his clients, the answer was "no".
“Not really. Now, I can’t explain this to a young woman from rural Punjab that ‘listen, do you watch porn’. She will obviously run away and think I’m some sort of a creep,” he added.
