NT Attorney-General’s Department reveal seven charged with ‘posting and boasting’ offences

Since passing ‘posting and boasting’ legislation more than six months ago, seven people have been charged under the offence. What the Government said about the figure.

NT Police are yet to lay any arrests in relation to a stolen Toyota HiLux, which was found burnt-out in Palumpa last month.

Seven people having been charged for ‘posting and boasting’ since the law was passed more than six months ago.

Despite the low number, the CLP government maintains the law is working.

Punishable by up to two years imprisonment if convicted, the law was a Finocchiaro Government initiative to curb so-called ‘crim-fluencing’ - the act of splashing illegal activity online.

The Attorney-General’s Department has confirmed seven people were charged with the offence between October 30, 2024, and April 30, 2025.

The NT News understands only one individual was charged as an adult.

There is no specialist NT Police team which monitors illegal activity on social media. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar.

A CLP government spokesperson said the individuals charged would have previously slipped through the cracks.

“These are seven people who have been charged with an offence who would not have been under Labor.”

The spokesperson also maintained the law made offenders “accountable” for their actions.

“This is about ensuring our laws act as a deterrent to committing crimes, that there are consequences, and offenders are held accountable for their actions,” they said.

“These laws are about drawing a line in the sand, and filming yourself or your mates committing a crime and gloating about it online is not okay.”

A stolen Hilux being paraded online in April.

While the offence offers “an additional” tool for police to address crime, an NT Police spokesperson revealed the force had no specialist capability in the online space.

“(NT Police) does not have a dedicated team solely focused on monitoring social media for ‘posting and boasting’ offences,” they said.

“However, NTPF can monitor, capture, analyse and assess online content across various social media platforms to detect a wide variety of crime types and anti-social activities.”

The spokesperson was asked what evidence was required prior to charging someone with ‘posting and boasting’.

“Clear intent to gain notoriety for offences including, recklessly endangering life and serious harm, assaults or assault with intent to steal and theft and related offences, needs to be identified in order for a charge to be laid.”

While she concedes her party supported ‘post and boast’ laws, Selena Uibo maintains the government’s crime package is failing. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Opposition leader Selena Uibo said the figure reinforced a failing crime package.

“When in government, Labor was working on ‘post and boast’ legislation - and we supported the CLP Government when they moved to implement them,” she said.

“But the Finocchiaro Government continues to fail at preventing crime in the first place, only reacting after the fact.”

Originally published as NT Attorney-General’s Department reveal seven charged with ‘posting and boasting’ offences