This article contains references to sexual assault.
Eight years after Saxon Mullins says she was raped in a Sydney alleyway, the New South Wales parliament has introduced laws to change the standard of sexual consent.
Attorney-General Mark Speakman paid tribute to Ms Mullins' "extraordinary bravery" and "tireless advocacy" after the "affirmative consent" legislation on Tuesday cleared its final hurdle.
Ms Mullins endured two trials and two appeals, after she says she was raped in an alleyway behind a Kings Cross nightclub by a man she'd met only minutes earlier.
A judge ultimately found that while Ms Mullins - in her own mind - had not consented, the man had no reasonable basis for believing she didn't.
Within 24 hours of sharing her story through the ABC's Four Corners program in 2018, Mr Speakman sparked a review of the laws, which lead to the changes passed in parliament on Tuesday.
It's a day Ms Mullins never could have imagined when she first publicly told her story, she told AAP.
"It does feel nice, on one hand," she said.
"I would never have dreamed that something like this could happen.
"Then on the other hand, obviously I wish nobody in Australia knew my name."
Under the new laws, people have to say or do something to confirm their partner consents to a sexual activity, otherwise they could be guilty of sexual assault.
Two amendments were added to the bill in the upper house, which include clarifying that cognitive or mental health impairments must be a "substantial" cause for failing to seek consent, as well as writing into law the terms and timelines for a review.
Mr Speakman says the "common sense reforms" will simplify the law and ensure "more effective prosecutions of sexual offences".
"No law can ever erase the trauma of sexual assault, but we have listened to calls for change and consulted with victim-survivors and legal experts to improve our response to sexual violence," he said.
What the new law doesn't do, as some have feared, is make consensual sex illegal.
"It does not require a written agreement or script, or stifle spontaneity. It's a matter of common sense and respect," Mr Speakman said.
"Under our reforms, if you want to engage in sexual activity with someone, then you need to do or say something to find out if they want to have sex with you too.
"It's that simple."
Judges, legal practitioners and police will receive targeted education programs on the new legislation before it comes into effect mid-next year.
There will also be new directions for juries to address common misconceptions in sexual assault cases, community awareness campaigns, and research into the experiences survivors have had with the criminal justice process.
Ms Mullins said the next steps are just as critical as the legislation itself.
"If we just change the law nothing's actually going to change," she said.
"We need to have those community attitudes change as well, and so everything that goes along with it is so, so important."
Next on the list for Ms Mullins, now a director for Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy, is securing the same reforms in other states, and improving education around consent in schools across the nation.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit . In an emergency, call 000.
