Legislation intended to protect the Tasmanian community from sex offenders has been found to have substantial issues which could make children less safe.
Under consideration by the state’s parliament, “Daniel’s Law” was named in honour of murdered 13 year-old Daniel Morcombe and aims to prevent other similar crimes from taking place.
However, on Monday a parliamentary inquiry recommended the proposed laws undergo a substantial redraft.
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It found an application-based public disclosure scheme to identify offenders could have “unintended consequences”.
The scheme would give parents and carers the right to ask police if someone with regular, unsupervised access to their child was a registered sex offender.
Doing so could create false feelings of safety that an individual who was not registered does not pose a risk, and perpetuate the myth that offenders were more likely to be unknown to victims and their families, the inquiry found.
It also flagged the scheme could increase the chances of reoffending by contributing to social isolation, unemployment, vigilantism and housing instability.
“As drafted, the proposed scheme would place children and young people at further risk and could expose victim survivors of child sexual abuse to further trauma and harm,” said inquiry chair and Labor MP Ella Haddad.
“Given the significant concerns and complexity of amendments required to the current bill, we recommend the bill be withdrawn and a new bill drafted.”
The laws would also introduce new reporting requirements for offenders and enable police to publish the details of those who had failed to do so.
Among the issues the inquiry raised was whether offender’s who committed crimes when they were underage should be added to the list, forcing them to report to police.
Sex workers with children in their care could also be added to the sex offender list if they were convicted of a crime related to their industry, the inquiry found.
Tasmanian Police Minister Felix Ellis, who introduced the bill, said delaying it was not in the public interest.
“The bill has already undergone extensive consultation and received strong endorsement from stakeholders,” he said.
“Daniel’s Law will protect our children from harmful predators.
“These laws have been implemented in a number of other states and it’s important Tasmanian children have the same protections.”
Mr Ellis said the state government would work across parliament to strike the right balance.
Legislation also dubbed “Daniel’s Law” was introduced in Queensland in 2025, including a public child sex offender register and reporting requirements.
Daniel was abducted and murdered on the Sunshine Coast in December 2003.
Daniel’s parents, Bruce and Denise Morcombe, have broadly backed the laws introduction in Tasmania and gave evidence to the parliamentary inquiry.
Mr Morcombe told AAP they were disappointed in Monday’s findings, but hopeful the laws would pass in some capacity.
“We want it to be balanced, we want it to be right, but it’s still got to have an element of teeth,” he said.
“It hasn’t been screwed up and thrown in the bin, so there’s more work ahead.
“We don’t think it’s the end of the road.”
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
