Importing these products is illegal. Possession is also a Commonwealth offence carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.
Available figures indicate the scale is significant, but difficult to track consistently. The Department of Home Affairs recorded 103 detections in 2020–21, 88 in 2021–22 and 29 in 2022–23.
An Australian Institute of Criminology review called for more research in the area, but identified plausible risks involved with owning them, including desensitisation, sexual objectification of children, escalation and use in grooming.
The appropriate response is therefore neither to dismiss these objects as harmless fantasy nor to treat possession as automatic proof of future offending. It’s to recognise them as potential risk indicators that may justify investigation.
As I point out elsewhere on this thread, there is help available if people want it and it can start anonymously, e.g. see https://bravehearts.org.au/
Even calling LIfeline, people can get information on what services are available. Professional help IS AVAILABLE. The more adults realise this the more they can find their own healing and the more children will be spared.