Sexual consent is the free and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity of any kind. The age of consent to sexual activity in Queensland is 16 years, or 18 years where there is an impairment of the mind.  The age and definition of sexual consent varies across Australian state and territory jurisdictions as well as internationally.

The Commonwealth Consent Policy Framework defines consent as 'A free, voluntary and informed agreement between people to participate in a sexual act. This agreement is only present when these people mutually and genuinely want to engage in that sexual act, and actively ensure their partner does too'. For the purpose of the framework, sexual consent refers to consent as it relates to sexual acts, including sexual intercourse, sexual touching, sharing sexual imagery, sexting and online sexual acts. Sexual consent is defined as: “

Consent will not be considered to have been given where a person is incapable of consenting to the activity because they are either:

• asleep
• unconscious
• intoxicated by alcohol or any other substance to the point of being incapable of giving consent to sexual activity.

Affirmative consent means that consent cannot be assumed where a person either:

• is silent
• is not fighting back (an absence of physical resistance does not equal consent)
• does not say no or says maybe (an absence of verbal protest does not equal consent)
• is forced or coerced
• is threatened
• is manipulated by authority.

You can find more information on the Safe Campuses webpage. The short animation, Cycling Through Consent, can also help increase your understanding of consent.