People who share or post sexually explicit photos of others without their consent are a step closer to facing tougher criminal and civil penalties, after a meeting of state and territory attorneys-general.

There is significant concern the phenomenon referred to as revenge porn is growing, as the use of social media and messaging apps becomes more and more prevalent.

The Federal Government has today called for public submissions on developing civil penalties, such as fines and injunctions, to better target both the perpetrators who share such images and the websites that host them.

Public consultation on the measures is open until the end of July, and the Government hopes to introduce new legislation by the end of the year.

The Government's discussion paper cites research by RMIT and La Trobe University which found that of 3,000 people surveyed between the ages of 18 and 54, one in 10 had reported a nude or semi-nude photo of themselves had been shared without their permission.

Yesterday, a meeting of the nation's most senior legal and crime officials in Melbourne released a national statement of principles relating to the criminalisation of revenge porn.

States and territories have been discussing ways to harmonise their laws, which criminalise the sharing of intimate photos without someone's consent.

South Australia and Victoria are among jurisdictions who have already passed these laws.

"We have listened to victims and law enforcement agencies, and it is clear that in the first instance what victims want is for these images to be taken down as quickly as possible," the Minister for Women, Michaelia Cash, said in a statement.

"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."

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said it was important for a "strong and consistent" approach across the country.

In February last year, a Senate committee recommended revenge porn should become a federal crime and that a national agency should be established to police the inappropriate sharing of images.

Labor has been calling for action on revenge porn for some time, with MPs Terri Butler and Tim Watts introducing a private member's bill to criminalise the act in September 2015.

"We know revenge porn is a problem, we know that it is extensively used to humiliate and target former partners," deputy Opposition leader Tanya Plibersek said.

"It's very possible to take legislative action now, if the Government wished to do so. There's really no excuse for another delay."

Government frontbencher Simon Birmingham defended the consultation process.

"We're working through these issues, and we do need to make sure the states, territories and other partners are on board," he said.

"The Turnbull Government has led the way in this regard by driving support, through the eSafety Commissioner, for a higher standard in relation to online safety activities, and our intention is to see that followed through."