Sex Offender draft Bill based on strongest legislation in the country

The Rockliff Liberal Government is committed to protecting the Tasmanian community, particularly those who are most vulnerable – our children. 
 
The Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Bill is currently out for consultation. The amendments are based on Western Australia’s Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004, which are the strongest in the country.
 
As with all consultation, the Government is keen to hear community views before any draft Bill is finalised. 
 
Minister Ellis said the amendments have been drafted to align the Act with contemporary national and international principles of child protection and are focused on strengthening our ability to protect our children from harm.
 
“The changes will make it easier for police to share information on the Sex Offender Register with other government agencies, and will also include a new disclosure scheme, so parents and guardians can find out if a specific person who has regular, unsupervised access to their child is on the sex offender register,” Minister Ellis said. 
 
“This will empower caregivers and ensure they can access the information they need to protect their children. 
 
“Further, the Bill allows the Commissioner of Police to release personal details of a reportable offender to the community when the whereabouts or location of that offender is not known. This is to ensure the safety of the community and children is paramount. 
 
“The Tasmanian Government has committed $300,000 to establish the new Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme and $2.9 million to employ an extra five Tasmania Police investigators to support this. All of these specialist investigators have now commenced in their roles. 
 
“We will also restrict registered sex offenders from engaging in child-related work, we will enhance greater information sharing between government agencies, and establish new and stronger penalties for non-compliance with the Act. 
 
“Ensuring the safety of our children is paramount and the centre of these amendments,” Minister Ellis said. 
 
The public consultation period concludes at 5pm on 16 February 2024. 
 
 For more information, visit https://www.police.tas.gov.au/consultations/