Section 33 of the Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA) places legal restrictions on the sharing of indecent or offensive material.

Indecent material includes material that is immoral or obscene [s 33(1)].

Offensive material includes material that depicts

where the material would cause serious and general offence amongst reasonable adult members of the community [s 33(1)].

It is an offence to do any of the following with indecent or offensive material [s 33(2)]:

The maximum penalty is a $20,000 fine or imprisonment for 6 months.

However, if a parent or guardian shows such material to their own child, it is not an offence under section 33(2)(f) but, depending on the circumstances, it is possible that charges of gross indecency could follow or that child abuse issues could be raised: see Protection of Children and Young People.

Following a finding of guilt, the indecent or offensive material can be confiscated [s 33(9)].

It is not an offence to share material in good faith for legitimate legal, medical, scientific or artistic purposes [s 33(5)].

A prosecution under s 33 cannot be commenced without consent of the Minister [s 33(6)]. The Minister must have regard to the National Classification Board under the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (Cth) in making a decision [s 33(7)].