People who share intimate images of others without their consent - known as revenge porn - could face fresh civil penalties as early as next year.
The Turnbull government is seeking feedback on proposed scaled penalties, which would include enforceable undertakings, injunctions, infringement notices, formal warnings and take-down notices.
In a discussion paper released on Saturday, the government says the sharing of non-consensual images is of increasing concern globally.
Under its proposed changes, the eSafety Commissioner would be able to impose civil penalties and be given extra powers to investigate complaints, as is the case with cyberbullying.
A new online portal for reporting cases is also being created and will be launched in the second half of the year.
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield says strong and consistent regulation at a commonwealth level is needed to hold perpetrators to account.
In the first instance, victims want the images taken down as quickly as possible, Minister for Women Michaelia Cash says.
"By also penalising perpetrators and the sites which host this content, we are sending a strong message that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated," she said in the joint statement.
The government will be accepting submissions until June 30, with any legislation to be introduced by the end of the year.
State and territory governments on Friday also agreed to a national framework for working on new criminal penalties for the sharing of revenge porn.
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek says her party's MPs had put forward private legislation to deal with the problem for years.
"We've seen parliamentary inquiries come and go and now the only action we have from the government is the announcement of another inquiry," she told reporters in Sydney.
"It is very possible to take legislative action now if the government wished to do so. There's really no excuse for another delay."
In 2015 Labor MPs Terri Butler and Tim Watts introduced legislation that would have created new revenge porn offences.
