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FACT SHEET
Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill
2011
The Government has introduced legislation into Parliament to amend the Community
Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 (the Act).
The Bill introduces legislation to correct minor anomalies that have been identified in the
Act and seeks to ensure consistency in child protection offender reporting across all
jurisdictions.
The Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Amendment Bill 2011 amends the
Act to:
a) provide appropriate reporting periods under sections 24 and 25 for reportable
offenders:
who are sentenced for two or more Class 2 offences or two or more Class 3
offences;
who are sentenced for one or more Class 2 offences and one or more Class 3
offences.
b) increase the penalty for an offence of failing to comply with reporting obligations;
c) require reportable offenders to present all valid passports when reporting in person to
police and to provide updated passport details as part of personal information under
section 16 of the Act;
d) require reportable offenders to present valid passports when reporting an intended
absence from Australia, and upon return from an absence under section 19;
e) provide that section 122 of the Criminal Code Act 1924 - Unnatural crimes is listed as
a Class 2 offence within Schedule 2 of the Act;
f) provide that Manslaughter, section 159 of the Criminal Code Act 1924, where there is
a proved sexual element in the commission of this crime, is listed as a Class 3 offence
within the Act;
g) provide that the Commissioner of Police is authorised to prevent a reportable offender
from changing their name with the Tasmanian Registrar of Births, Deaths and
Marriages;
h) allow the Commissioner of Police to provide the name, date of birth and addresses of
reportable offenders to the Tasmanian Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages;
i) provide that a Magistrate may give a direction to a reportable offender to remain in
court until a notice of reporting obligations can be prepared and served on the
offender;
j) require reportable offenders to report details of email addresses and other electronic
identifiers including carriage services and internet service providers used by the
person; and
k) include further offences to Schedules 1, 2 and 3 to reflect recent amendments to the
Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995, and effectively contribute to the
comprehensive national coverage of serious sexual offences.
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Section 17 Reporting of passports, email addresses and other electronic identifiers
Section 17 of the Act relates to details the reportable offender must report to the Registrar.
Currently the Act covers details such as name, address, any aliases, details of affiliation
with any club or organisation that has children participate, details of tattoos or permanent
distinguishing marks, employment details etc. Section 17 does not currently require the
reportable offender to report passport details.
The Bill amends Section 17 to require a reportable offender to provide the Registrar or an
authorised person with copies of valid passports, and to report any updated details
regarding those passports. Reporting of passport details will assist with compliance
management, monitoring and verification of any travel outside of Australia.
New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia currently have
legislation which requires registrable offenders to report their email address and other
electronic identifiers to police as part of their reporting obligations.
This Bill amends the Act to have the same provisions as these jurisdictions, to provide that
a registrable person must report electronic communication identifiers including carriage
service providers and internet service providers that are used by the offender.
The obligation for reportable offenders to provide email addresses and other electronic
identifiers will contribute to deterring such offenders from accessing child exploitation
material and/or engaging in predatory behaviour such as `grooming' children via the
internet.
Section 19 Intended absence from Tasmania
Section 19 currently requires a reportable offender to provide details of each State,
Territory or Country they intend to visit, dates of travel, address or location whilst in that
location and dates of return.
The Bill amends this section to require reportable offenders to present all valid passports
when reporting an intended absence from Australia. Passports must be presented for
inspection at least 14 days before the reportable offender intends to travel.
The Bill will also make it a requirement that the reportable offender present their passport
to the Registrar or an authorised person for inspection with 7 days of their return to
Tasmania.
If the reportable offender decides not to leave Tasmania or Australia, after reporting to do
so, a provision exists in the Bill to provide that they notify the Registrar or an authorised
person of this decision not to leave.
This amendment seeks to assist in maximising the effectiveness of the management of
registered offenders. The register allows reportable offenders to be monitored, and this
amendment will be a further tool to assist in managing the risk of known sex offenders. It
is also thought that the amendment will seek to deter re-offending as authorities will know
their whereabouts during travel.
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Sections 24 and 25 of the Act
The Bill amends sections 24 and 25 of the Act, in regard to specifying what the reporting
period is:
a) for a reportable offender sentenced for two or more Class 2 offences or two or more
Class 3 offences; and
b) for a reportable offender who is sentenced for one or more Class 2 offences and one
or more Class 3 offences.
In these circumstances, the reporting period will be for the remainder of the reportable
offender's life or such lesser period as is determined by the court.
This amendment reflects the intention of Parliament when the legislation was introduced in
2005. The register currently has 6 (out of 207) persons registered for life.
Section 25, which relates to reporting periods for young offenders, has also been amended
to ensure appropriate periods are imposed for young offenders who have committed
certain scheduled offences.
The amendments to section 25 ensure that:
a) the maximum reporting period for a young reportable offender in respect of the
matters referred to in section 24(1), which are low level offences, must not exceed 4
years; and
b) the maximum reporting period for a young reportable offender for the matters
referred to in section 24(2), which are medium level offences, and section 24(3),
which are high level offences, must not exceed 7 � years.
Section 33 Failure to comply with reporting obligations
The current penalty for this offence is a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units or
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both. The Bill amends the penalty to
a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years,
or both. This amendment seeks to bring Tasmania in line with the penalties provided for in
other jurisdictions.
Section 36 Notice to be given to reportable offender
Section 36 currently stipulates that a court must provide a reportable offender with a notice
of his or her reporting obligations and the consequences that may arise if he or she fails to
comply with those, or any of those, obligations.
The Bill amends section 36 to provide that the court may give a direction to a reportable
offender to remain in the court until the orders are prepared and served. This amendment
will improve efficiency and ensure that offenders are served with orders at the time of their
court appearance, and will remove the requirement for police to serve the relevant orders
at a later time.
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Currently, police have to find and serve offenders with a copy of the court order. This
takes considerable time, especially when some offenders deliberately avoid service.
Section 45 Confidentiality- power to prevent name changes
New South Wales and Victorian legislation require a registered person to apply to the
Commissioner of Police before changing their name. The Commissioner is authorised to
prevent the name change in certain situations including where it might undermine the
police ability to supervise and monitor the person.
Victorian legislation also allows the Commissioner to provide the Victorian Registrar of
Births, Deaths and Marriages with the name, date of birth and previous addresses of a
registrable offender. This allows Victoria Police to provide a list of currently registrable
offenders to Births, Deaths and Marriages so that if an offender attempts to change their
name without the Commissioner's approval it may be picked up and the offender
breached.
Gathering information is the first step in successful offender management, sharing this
information with the right people is also vital. It is intended to provide for both of these
amendments within the Tasmanian Act. This proposed amendment would also require the
Registrar of Births, Death and Marriages to be subject to the confidentiality provisions
contained in section 45 of the Act.
Approximately 1000 name change requests are received annually at the Tasmanian
Births, Deaths and Marriages Office. If a person is Tasmanian born but resides in another
State (other than QLD or NSW) they would have the option to change their name in that
State because they reside there or in Tasmania because they were born here. The other
State is then obliged to make Tasmania aware of the change and the birth record is
amended.
This amendment will effectively contribute to preventing reportable offenders from
establishing new identities to avoid monitoring by police and thereby potentially enabling
them to re-offend in the community. It supports rigorous monitoring of reportable offenders
who pose a risk to vulnerable members of the community.
Schedule 2 Class 2 Offences
Class 2 offences are those which are contained in Schedule 2 of the Act. These offences
are considered the medium level offences for which an offender may be, upon conviction,
made registrable, and for which specific periods of registration are required. The
MCPEMP endorsed a recommendation that jurisdictions work towards the harmonisation
of registrable offences between jurisdictions.
The Bill amends Schedule 2 of the Act to include the offence of Unnatural Crimes, Section
122 of the Criminal Code Act 1924. This offence is more commonly known as Bestiality.
Significant argument was provided for the inclusion of this crime in the previous Cabinet
Minute.
The Victorian Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 lists Bestiality as a registrable offence.
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Retrospectivity will only occur in respect to the fact that the offender has previous
convictions and may then be a second or third time offender.
Schedule 3 Class 3 offences
Class 3 offences are those which are contained in Schedule 3 of the Act. Class 3 offences
are generally the more serious offences for which an offender may be, upon conviction,
made registrable, and for which specific periods of registration are required. The
MCPEMP endorsed a recommendation that jurisdictions work towards the harmonisation
of registrable offences between jurisdictions.
The Bill amends section 15 of the Act to provide that the crime of Manslaughter, section
159 of the Criminal Code Act 1924 is a Class 3 offence in situations where there are
reasonable grounds to believe that in the course of or as part of the events surrounding
the commission of that offence, an offence specified in Schedule 1, 2 or 3 was committed
by the offender.
A practical example of such a situation includes a recent Tasmanian Supreme Court case,
where two males were convicted of crimes surrounding the death of a young university
student. One male was convicted of murder, the other convicted of manslaughter. The
facts of this case involved a sexual element; however sexual offences were not able to be
substantiated against either male due to the absence of victim testimony.
It is considered that in situations such as this, where the crime has involved a sexual
element, the offender is a potential risk to the community upon release from custody, and
as such should be considered for registration on the Community Protection Offender
Register. Schedule 3 of the Act already provides that the crime of Murder is a Class 3
offence if there are reasonable grounds to believe that, in the course of or as part of the
events surrounding the commission of that offence, an offence specified in Schedule 1, 2
or 3 was committed by the offender.
Addition of further offences to Schedules 1, 2 and 3
The Commonwealth Crimes Legislation Amendment (Sexual Offences Against Children)
Act 2010 received Royal Assent on 14 April 2010. The Act strengthens child sex tourism
laws and introduces new offences for dealing in child pornography or child abuse material
overseas, ensuring comprehensive coverage of offences in areas of traditional
Commonwealth responsibility.
The Act increased penalties for online child pornography offences and creates a new high
penalty offence for online child pornography networks. The Act also has a suite of new
postal offences to ensure that child sexual exploitation is consistently and comprehensively
dealt with whether it is committed online or through the post.
As a result of the changes made by the Commonwealth Act, references in the Community
Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 to existing Commonwealth child sex-related
offences need to be updated to ensure that offenders can be registered on the State
Community Protection Register and on the Australian National Child Offender Register,
which is now active across all Australian State and Territories.
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The list of new and amended offences are contained in the Commonwealth Criminal Code
Act 1995 and include:
Act and Description
Section
Child Sex tourism offences
272.8 Sexual intercourse with a child outside Australia (new � based on
50BA and 50BB of the Crimes Act 1914 which have been repealed)
272.9 Sexual activity (other than sexual intercourse) with a child outside
Australia (new � based on section 50BC and 50BD of the Crimes
Act 1914 which have been repealed)
272.10 Aggravated sexual intercourse or other sexual activity offences
(mental impairment or position of trust) (new)
272.11 Persistent sexual abuse of a child outside Australia (new)
272.12 Sexual intercourse with a young person (16-18 years of age)
outside Australia (new)
272.13 Sexual activity (other than sexual intercourse) with a young person
(16-18 years of age) outside Australia
272.14 Procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia
(new)
272.15 Grooming a child for sexual activity outside Australia (new)
272.18 Benefitting from child sex tourism (new � based on section 50DA of
the Crimes Act 1914 which has been repealed)
272.19 Encouraging child sex tourism (new � based on section 50DB of
the Crimes Act 1914 which has been repealed)
272.20 Preparing to engage in child sex tourism (new)
Overseas child pornography offences
273.5 Possessing, controlling, producing, distributing or obtaining child
pornography material outside Australia (new)
273.6 Possessing, controlling, producing, distributing or obtaining child
abuse material outside Australia (new)
273.7 Aggravated offence � child pornography or child abuse conduct on
three or more occasions and two or more people (new)
Carriage Service (Internet) offences
474.19 Use a carriage service for child pornography material (amended)
474.20 Possessing, controlling, producing, supplying or obtaining child
pornography material for use through a carriage service (amended)
474.22 Use a carriage service for child abuse material (amended)
474.22A Aggravated offence � conduct involving child pornography or child
abuse material on three or more occasions and two or more people
(new)
474.23 Possessing, controlling, producing, supplying or obtaining child
abuse material for use through a carriage service (amended)
474.25A Use a carriage service for sexual activity with a child (new)
474.25B Aggravated sexual activity offence (mental impairment or position
of trust) (new)
474.26 Using a carriage service to procure a child for sexual activity
(unchanged)
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474.27 Using a carriage service to groom a child for sexual activity
(unchanged)
474.27A Using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a
child (new)
Postal Service offences
471.16 Using a postal service for child pornography material (new)
471.17 Possessing, controlling, producing, supplying or obtaining child
pornography material for use through a postal service (new)
471.19 Using a postal service for child abuse material (new)
471.20 Possessing, controlling, producing, supplying or obtaining child
abuse material for use through a postal service (new)
471.22 Aggravated offence � conduct involving child pornography or child
abuse material on three or more occasions and two or more people
(new)
471.24 Using a postal service to procure a child for sexual activity (new)
471.25 Using a postal service to groom a child for sexual activity (new)
471.26 Using a postal service to send indecent material to a child (new)
The Bill amends the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 to include the
above listed offences in the Schedules of the Act.