"All Bills introduced to the Queensland Parliament, with the exception of Bills that are considered urgent, are referred to a committee to ensure the appropriate consultation can occur," the spokesperson told GameSpot Australia.

Since Australia has previously had no R18+ rating for video games there is absolutely nothing in current legislation that prohibits the sale of R18+ games. Retailers are forbidden from selling ‘unclassified’ video games but, in this case, the games will be classified — they’ll be classified under an R18+ rating that simply isn’t referenced in any legislation. This means that R18+ games can be sold, but there is literally no law to manage that process — no details on punishment for sale to minors, no set rules on how the games can be displayed. Nothing.

“There’s no reference to it,” explained the spokesperson from Queensland’s Department of Justice, “There’s nothing in the legislation that prohibits it, because we’ve never had [an R18+ rating] before.”

This puts Queensland in a precarious situation. By delaying its own legislation Queensland has practically guaranteed it will have zero provisions or restrictions on how R18+ video games will be sold in its state for up to three months. This means that, technically, retailers could sell adult games to children with no fear of punishment from the State.