The laws around non-consensual sharing of intimidate images have been further strengthened after the government passed strict ‘revenge porn’ legislation.

The Enhancing Online Safety (Non-consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Bill 2018 passed the House of Representatives on Thursday.

Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield said the new legislation would help the government crack down on "online creeps".

“The Turnbull Government is acting to combat this violation of a person’s freedom and dignity,” he said. “The new laws will actively discourage potential offenders through both civil and criminal penalties which complement existing state and territory laws.”

Under the new laws, an individual may be subject to civil penalties of up to $105,000 and corporations up to $525,000 if they do not comply with requests from the eSafety Commissioner to remove an intimate image.

Additionally, in accordance with amendments to the Criminal Code Act 1995, serious offenders could face jail sentences of up to five years when the material shared is private sexual material, or seven years for repeat offenders of the civil penalty regime.

Previously the offence carried a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment.

Fifield said the changes would make the offence punishable under federal law.

“We do have laws that address these matters at the state and territory level, but they do differ across jurisdictions, which is why the Commonwealth is working with the states and territories through COAG [Council of Australian Governments] to support a nationally consistent approach to criminal offences relating to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images,” he said.

The bill, which passed the Senate earlier this year, was originally created to bolster the powers of the eSafety Commissioner.

“These measures give the eSafety Commissioner the power to pursue a range of responses should informal cooperation be insufficient,” said Fifield.

Shadow Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland shared her support of the legislation.

“Labor welcomes the government coming to the party on the need for a specific criminal offence that sends a strong and clear message to the community that the nonconsensual sharing of private sexual material is not acceptable,” she said.

“Labor pays tribute to the efforts of a range of stakeholders in the community. We hope today’s progress brings the victims of image-based abuse some comfort as they see the results of their advocacy, and know they have helped protect their fellow Australians from this serious form of abuse.”

The bill is currently awaiting the Governor General's Royal assent.

Update: Royal Assent was received on 31 August 2018.