Sexual intercourse—young person between 16 and 18 under special care
(1) Any person who has sexual intercourse with a young person who— (a) is under his or her special care, and (b) is of or above the age of 16 years and under the age of 17 years, is liable to imprisonment for 8 years. (2) Any person who has sexual intercourse with a young person who— (a) is under his or her special care, and (b) is of or above the age of 17 years and under the age of 18 years, is liable to imprisonment for 4 years. (3) For the purposes of this section, a young person (the complainant) is under the special care of another person (the accused person) if, and only if— (a) the accused person is any of the following who is not a close family member of the complainant— (i) the parent or the parent of a parent of the complainant, (ii) the guardian or authorised carer of the complainant, (iii) the spouse or de facto partner of a person referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii), or (b) the accused person is a teacher at, or the principal or a deputy principal of, the school at which the complainant is a student, or (b1) the accused person performs work at the school at which the complainant is a student, in which the accused person has students at the school, including the complainant, under the authority of the accused person, or (c) the accused person has an established personal relationship with the complainant in connection with the provision of religious, sporting, musical or other instruction to the complainant, in which relationship the complainant is under the authority of the accused person, or (d) the accused person is a custodial officer of an institution of which the complainant is an inmate, or (e) the accused person is a health professional and the complainant is a patient of the health professional, or (f) the accused person— (i) performs work for an organisation that provides residential care to young persons placed in out-of-home care (within the meaning of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998), and (ii) has an established personal relationship with the complainant in connection with the provision of that residential care to the complainant, in which relationship the complainant is under the authority of the accused person, or (g) the accused person— (i) performs work for an organisation that provides refuge or crisis accommodation, and (ii) has an established personal relationship with the complainant in connection with the provision of that accommodation to the complainant, in which relationship the complainant is under the authority of the accused person. (4) (5) A person does not commit an offence under this section if the person and the young person to whom the charge relates were, at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed, married to each other. (6)
Sourced from the New South Wales Legislation website at 8 June 2026. For the latest information on New South Wales Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au. Verify the current text against the official source before relying on it.
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