No, Australia does not have the death penalty. Capital punishment has been abolished in every state, territory, and federal jurisdiction, and a 2010 federal law makes it legally impossible for any Australian parliament to bring it back. The last person executed in the country was Ronald Ryan, hanged at Pentridge Prison on 3 February 1967 after being convicted of killing a prison guard during an escape.1Parliament of Australia. A World Without the Death Penalty – Chapter 3
When Australia Got Rid of It
Abolition took more than six decades. Queensland went first in 1922, removing the death penalty from its criminal code entirely.1Parliament of Australia. A World Without the Death Penalty – Chapter 3 Other states followed over the following decades. In 1973, the federal parliament passed the Death Penalty Abolition Act, which stated plainly that no person is liable to the punishment of death for any offence, and that courts had to read any law still technically listing death as a penalty as if that penalty did not exist.2Federal Register of Legislation. Death Penalty Abolition Act 1973
New South Wales completed the picture in 1985, abolishing the death penalty for its last remaining capital crimes, including treason and piracy. By then no execution had been carried out in Australia for nearly twenty years. Polling from 2009 found 64 per cent of Australians thought the appropriate penalty for murder was imprisonment, with only 23 per cent favouring the death penalty.1Parliament of Australia. A World Without the Death Penalty – Chapter 3
Can a State Bring the Death Penalty Back?
No. Australia’s federal system gives each state its own parliament and its own criminal law powers, which in theory left room for a state to re-enact a death penalty statute. The federal parliament closed that door in 2010 by passing the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Torture Prohibition and Death Penalty Abolition) Act, which amended the 1973 Act to extend the prohibition to the states and territories.3Australasian Legal Information Institute. Crimes Legislation Amendment (Torture Prohibition and Death Penalty Abolition) Act 2010 The amended law now provides that the death penalty “must not be imposed as the penalty for any offence” anywhere in Australia.1Parliament of Australia. A World Without the Death Penalty – Chapter 3
If a state parliament tried to pass a new death penalty law, it would collide with that federal prohibition. Under Section 109 of the Australian Constitution, where a state law is inconsistent with a valid federal law, the federal law prevails and the state law is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.4Parliamentary Education Office. Why Can Federal Law Invalidate a State Law and Not the Other Way Around Any state death penalty statute would be struck down.
International Treaty Backing
Australia’s domestic ban is reinforced by treaty. On 2 October 1990, Australia acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a treaty aimed specifically at abolishing the death penalty worldwide.5United Nations Treaty Collection. Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty Under the Protocol, no person within Australia’s jurisdiction may be executed, and Australia is obligated to take all necessary measures to keep the death penalty abolished.6Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty
The 2010 federal legislation draws part of its constitutional authority from this treaty commitment, through the Commonwealth’s power to make laws with respect to external affairs. The government’s published position is that it opposes “the death penalty in all circumstances for all people, everywhere.”7Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs. Joint Statement of the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand on the Execution of Protesters in Iran
What Happens If Another Country Wants to Execute Someone Here
Because Australia itself cannot impose the death penalty, the practical question is what happens when a foreign country wants to prosecute someone in Australia for a capital offence. The Extradition Act 1988 sets strict conditions. Section 22 allows extradition in a capital case only if the requesting country gives a formal undertaking that the person will not be tried for the offence, that if tried the death penalty will not be imposed, or that if imposed it will not be carried out.8Australasian Legal Information Institute. Extradition Act 1988 No. 4 of 1988 – Section 22
Section 15B goes further. The Attorney-General may only approve surrender if satisfied that “there is no real risk that the death penalty will be carried out upon the person in relation to any offence.”9UNODC. Extradition Act 1988 Incorporating Amendments to September 2021 A written undertaking is not automatically enough on its own; the Attorney-General has to be satisfied the undertaking will actually function as a safeguard inside the requesting country’s legal system.
Evidence sharing is similarly restricted. The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 governs how Australian authorities respond to foreign requests for help in investigations. Section 8(1A) makes refusal mandatory where the offence in the foreign country carries the death penalty, unless the Attorney-General finds special circumstances. Section 8(1B) adds a broader discretionary refusal, so even where the mandatory bar does not apply, the Attorney-General can decline a request if providing the assistance may result in a death sentence being imposed on any person.10UNODC. Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 Incorporating Amendments to September 2021
The Maximum Penalty in Australia Today
For the most serious crimes like murder, the maximum penalty across Australian jurisdictions is life imprisonment. What a life sentence actually looks like varies by state and territory. In some jurisdictions the sentencing judge sets a non-parole period at the time of sentence, meaning the person cannot apply for parole until that minimum term has been served. In others, the decision about a minimum term rests with the executive rather than the court. Some states allow life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the most serious cases, meaning the person will never be released.
So “life” does not mean exactly the same thing from one state to the next. The constant is at the top end: no crime committed in Australia, however serious, can result in execution. The harshest sentence a court can impose is imprisonment for the rest of the person’s natural life.