ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace said it is important that Australian laws send a clear message that sexual abuse and exploitation of children will not be tolerated and that there are strong penalties to deter sexual predators.
"We live in an increasingly sophisticated and technological world where children are vulnerable to a wide range of predatory behaviour that must face the strongest deterrents," Mr Wallace said.
"The Federal Government has shown itself to be very pro-active in protecting kids from the worst of the worst material online through its ISP filtering initiative. Today's announcement by Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor is another welcome step in safeguarding our children."
Mr Wallace said he was also pleased to see the introduction of a lengthy jail sentence of 25 years for Australian perpetrators of online child porn networks, and new offences for grooming or procuring a child for sexual activity overseas.
"This sickening behaviour has been the cause of far too much suffering and abuse of children both here and overseas and everything possible needs to be done to bring it to an end," Mr Wallace said.