Proposed New Legislation Restricting and Monitoring Convicted Sex Offenders
The Palaszczuk Government have taken to parliament to impose further strict conditions and monitoring on child sex offenders.
This week, Queensland Parliament will be evaluating the change to legislation that:
- enables new monitoring arrangements for those who have been on a Dangerous Prisoner (Sex Offender) Order; and
- reducing the threshold and expanding the types of conditions, for the police to apply for court orders for all child sex offenders.
Sex Offender Legislation
The current Dangerous Prisoner (Sex Offender) Act allows the Court to order a convicted sex offender to remain in prison, or be subject to strict supervision for an extended duration after their term of imprisonment has been served.
The proposed changes will mean that after a person’s DPSOA order expires, they become reportable offenders under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting) Act.
Reportable offenders are required by law to inform police of:
- Where they live
- Where they travel
- Any contact with children
- Any changes to their appearance, such as tattoos or distinguishing marks
- Details of their phone and internet connections
- Details of their social media accounts, interactions and important passwords
A reportable offender must immediately update police of any changes or may be liable to a term of imprisonment up to 5 years.
The Government also intends to give police power to apply for ‘Offender Prohibition Orders’ to limit the movements of any convicted child sex offenders that they have concerns about.
Although not yet in place, these proposed new laws may soon affect how you live.
If you are concerned as to how the legislation may affect yourself or someone close to you, please contact our office to obtain legal advice.
Disclaimer
This website contains general information about legal matters. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal advice from your lawyer or other professional legal services provider. You should never delay seeking legal advice, disregard legal advice, or commence or discontinue any legal action because of information on this website.
For specific legal advice, you should immediately contact Gatenby Criminal Lawyers on (07) 5580 0120.
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