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Amendments in the Bill

Amendments to the Child Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 (CPORA) will:

• require a reportable offender to report in a manner required by the police commissioner;
• extend the time in which an application for a reporting order can be made under section 13;
• impose uniform reporting periods for offenders on the NCOS;
• create one schedule of offences to support the new uniform reporting periods;
• remove section 210 of the Criminal Code as an exclusion offence for juvenile child sex offenders;
• allow an initial report to be made while an offender is in government detention;
• expand the personal details that must be reported under Schedule 2;
• impose more stringent time frames in which offenders must report changes to personal details and entries to and absences from Queensland;
• allow the police commissioner to suspend an offender’s reporting obligations in certain circumstances;
• remove duplicated reporting processes by automatically suspending the reporting requirements under CPORA for the period of time that a reportable offender is simultaneously reporting under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sex Offenders) Act 2003.
• allow police to take DNA from a corresponding reportable offender if DNA has not previously been taken in Queensland;
• allow a police officer to convey a reportable offender, who has been detained under section 60, to the nearest police station for the purpose of giving a written notice unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so;
• require a reportable offender to make an initial report at the time of their receipt of a written notice;
• remove the obligation for police to produce an evidence certificate under section 77; and
• clarify that the Queensland child protection register is comprised of a number of core components used for the purpose of collecting and storing reportable offender information.

Amendments proposed for the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 include:

• allowing police to enter premises for the purposes of making reasonable inquiries to verify information required to be provided under CPORA; and
• removing the requirement to destroy reportable offender DNA under section 490A.

Call for Submissions

Submissions closed on Wednesday, 30 April 2014.

Public Hearing

The Committee held a public hearing on the Bill with the invited witnesses at Parliament House, Brisbane on Wednesday 7 May 2014 from 9.20am to 10.40am.

A copy of the schedule can be accessed here.

Objectives of the Bill

The objectives of the Child Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 (the Bill) are to give effect to the government’s commitment to impose more stringent monitoring of sex offenders and tougher conditions for offenders on the Queensland component of the National Child Offender System (NCOS), formerly the Australian National Child Offender Register.

In this regard, the Bill increases the number of times sex offenders on the Queensland component of the NCOS will have to report to the police commissioner from once each year to every three months (periodic (quarterly) reporting). For the purposes of consistency and auditing, reportable offenders will be required to report in February, May, August and November of each year.

The Queensland Police Service (QPS) also plans to enhance compliance management of the new quarterly reporting under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004 via the introduction of new technology based reporting. Online reporting from a personal computer or mobile telephone to a secure QPS website will coincide with the commencement of the legislation. A trial of a kiosk reporting system is also planned and will be rolled out across the State, if successful.

In addition to the periodic quarterly reporting requirements, the Bill introduces additional periodic reporting, at the discretion of the police commissioner, as an additional layer of reporting for those offenders who represent a significant risk to the lives or sexual safety of children.

The Bill also gives effect to the requirements of the Regulatory Impact Systems Guidelines which requires regulation to be reviewed within 10 years of the regulation’s commencement date.

Other Information

The Child Protection (Offender Reporting) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 and Explanatory Notes are available from the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel at www.legislation.qld.gov.au.

The Hansard transcript of the explanatory speech for the Bill can be accessed here.

Referral

On 1 April 2014 the Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, the Hon Jack Dempsey MP, introduced the Child Protection (Offender Reporting) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 into the Queensland Parliament.  In accordance with Standing Order 131 of the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly, the Bill was referred to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee (the Committee) for detailed consideration.

By resolution of the Committee of the Legislative Assembly, the Committee is required to report to the Parliament by 26 May 2014.

Report

On 26 May 2014, the Committee tabled its Report No. 66, Child Protection (Offender Reporting) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014. A copy of the report is available here or can be accessed at Related Publications.

The Government tabled its response to the Committee's report on 4 June 2014. A copy of the Government Response is available here or can be accessed at Related Publications.

The Child Protection (Offender Reporting) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 was passed by the Legislative Assembly on 4 June 2014.