Coercive control and affirmative consent laws will be debated in Queensland parliament just months after the government introduced a landmark bill to make coercive control standalone offence.
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The laws, when passed, will introduce an affirmative model of consent and criminalise the tampering or removing of a condom without consent - called stealthing - to bring Queensland in line with other jurisdictions, barring the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
They will make coercive control, a form of abuse where perpetrators display a pattern of manipulative behaviour designed to intimidate and isolate the victim, an offence under law.
It will carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail when passed.
Debate on the bill is expected to begin as soon as Tuesday when parliament returns for its second sitting week of an election year.
The government will also introduce a health bill that implements minimum midwife-to-patient ratios of one to six, including babies, and establish in public maternity wards.
It comes following a long-running campaign from the state's nurses and midwives over burnout, with a survey last year finding midwives were caring for up to 20 people on each shift.
The bill also aims to improve access to pregnancy termination services, particularly in rural and regional parts of the state.
Appropriately trained nurses and midwives would be allowed to administer drugs such as MS-2 Step, a type of medical abortion medicine.
"It's fitting in Queensland Women's Week we will be debating that really important legislation, which is a game changer particularly for women in rural and regional Queensland," Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said on Sunday.
Australian Associated Press
