Daniel’s Law
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a child sex offender, you should get independent legal advice first.
What is Daniel's Law?
Daniel's Law ensures the public can access information online about convicted child sex offenders who are listed on the Queensland Child Protection Register.
Daniel’s Law can help when you:
- have concerns about a child sex offender in your local area
- want clarification about a person who has unsupervised access to your children.
How to get legal advice
The register has 3 tiers:
Missing Reportable Offenders
This section lists reportable offenders who have failed to comply with legal obligations and whose whereabouts are unknown. It provides the offender’s full name, photo and year of birth, which the public can access once they agree not to misuse the information.
The information will be removed once police identify where the offender is located.
Locality Search
The locality search enables anyone to submit a request to police to provide a photo of every reportable offender living in their area. Only Queensland residents can apply for a Locality Search.
Parents and Guardians Disclosure
Parents and guardians can submit an online application to confirm if someone who has unsupervised contact with their child is a reportable offender. To make an application for a Parents and Guardians Disclosure, applicants will need to provide details about their children and the person who has or may have unsupervised contact with their children, and the details of that contact.
Requesting Information
To request information under Daniel’s Law, applicants must:
- submit an application via the approved process
- provide personal identification and contact information
- provide any other information as required.
Who is a reportable offender?
Reportable offenders are people who have been sentenced for a reportable offence, which is a sexual or other offence against a child. They must regularly report to police and advise them of any changes to their personal details during the reporting period.
Reportable offenders may also be subject to an Offender Reporting Order or Offender Prohibition Order, which covers reportable offenders who have moved to Queensland from other jurisdictions, or who are subject to a supervision order under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 for a child sexual offence.
Does Daniel’s Law apply to all sex offenders?
No. Daniel’s Law only applies to sexual offenders who are currently on Queensland’s Child Protection Register.
It does not necessarily cover a person with a history of child sexual offending or anyone who has completed their reporting obligations and is no longer on the Child Protection Register.
Release of information
The Commissioner of Police has discretionary powers governing the release of the information. For example, the Commissioner can deny access to requested information if its release could adversely affect a victim or interfere with the administration of justice.
Offences
The legislation also contains offences for the misuse of information.
- A person must not intentionally engage in conduct that is likely to intimidate or harass an identified offender.
- A person must not, without the written approval of the Police Commissioner, display, distribute or publish any identifying information.
How to get legal advice
Legal Aid Queensland may give advice about offences.
Contact us
Other places to get legal advice:
Who else can help?
Disclaimer: This content is for general purposes only and not legal advice. If you have a legal problem, please contact us or speak to a lawyer. View our full disclaimer.
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