George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much indeed, Senator Lazarus, for that important question. Like you, as a Queensland senator I am very, very aware of the Morcombe case and, like you, I am sure I am lost in admiration for the courage of the late Daniel Morcombe's parents in raising public awareness of the issue of threats to children from sexual predators.

Senator Lazarus, you are correct in saying that there is no Commonwealth sex offenders register that is a public register. I can inform you that there is, however, a national child offender scheme that was created by the Howard government and launched in September 2004. The national child offender scheme is a national database that contains details of persons who have been convicted of sexual offences or other serious offences against children, either domestically or while overseas. Details of convicted sex offenders are provided to the relevant state or territory police authorities and are made available to relevant federal law enforcement authorities. The national child offender scheme was set up to provide a way for law enforcement authorities to track and monitor the movements, activities and whereabouts of these convicted sex offenders once they had been released into the community. People who have been convicted of a child sex offence or a child abuse offence are legally required to be registered under the national child offender scheme in their state or territory of residence. They are also required to comply with ongoing reporting conditions under the relevant state or territory legislation, and to report their personal details to the authorities. Perhaps I can elaborate a little more fully on the scheme in answer to your supplementary question.