FAQs

If a child is in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000).

Daniel's Law enables members of the public to access information about child sex offenders who are on Queensland's Child Protection Register. It aims to help all Queenslanders play a role in protecting children in our communities.

The Community Protection and Public Child Sex Offender Register (Daniel's Law) Act 2025, commonly known as 'Daniel's Law' came into effect on 31 December 2025.

Daniel's Law disclosure scheme aims to help all Queenslanders play a role in protecting children. The legislation makes particular information about certain reportable offenders publicly available to assist in making decisions to better safeguard children in our communities.

The Queensland Public Child Sex Offender Register is named Daniel's Law in honour of Sunshine Coast teenager Daniel Morcombe, who lost his life at the hands of a convicted child sex offender in 2003. Daniel's parents, Denise and Bruce Morcombe have been strong advocates for publicly accessible child sex offender registers throughout Australia.

There are three types of disclosures that will be available under Daniel's Law:

• Photographs and certain personal details of reportable offenders who have breached their reporting obligations and whose whereabouts are unknown to the Queensland Police Service can be published to a web page on this website for any person to access. This is the ‘Missing Reportable Offenders Webpage’.

• If you are a Queensland resident, you can apply to access photographs of certain reportable offenders who are recorded as living in your residential locality at the time you apply. This is a ‘Locality Search’.

• If you are a parent or guardian of children living in Queensland, you can apply to find out whether a person who has or may have unsupervised contact with your child or children is a current reportable offender. This is the ‘Parents and Guardians Disclosure Scheme’.
  Under the legislation, the Queensland Police Service must take a range of factors into consideration before disclosing information, with the overall aim of protecting children at the centre of that decision.

Queensland's Public Child Sex Offender Register is modelled on the Western Australian scheme, which is often referred to as a 'three-tiered' scheme. This simply means that there are three types of disclosures that can be made:

• Photographs and certain personal details of reportable offenders who have breached their reporting obligations and whose whereabouts are unknown to the Queensland Police Service can be published to a web page on this website for any person to access. This is the ‘Missing Reportable Offenders Webpage’.

• If you are a Queensland resident, you can apply to access photographs of certain reportable offenders who are recorded as living in your residential locality at the time you apply. This is a ‘Locality Search’.

• If you are a parent or guardian of children living in Queensland, you can apply to find out whether a person who has or may have unsupervised contact with your child or children is a current reportable offender. This is the ‘Parents and Guardians Disclosure Scheme’.

The Missing Reportable Offenders webpage publishes the photographs and certain personal details of reportable offenders who have breached their reporting obligations and whose whereabouts are currently unknown to the Queensland Police Service.

This information is made available to help keep the community safe and to assist in locating individuals who are unlawfully avoiding supervision.

The Locality Search allows eligible Queensland residents to apply for access to photographs of certain reportable offenders who are recorded as living in the same residential locality as the applicant at the time of the application.

To apply, Queensland residents must provide evidence of their address using a valid Queensland driver licence or other approved government-issued photographic identification.

The Parents and Guardians Disclosure Scheme enables Queensland parents and guardians to apply for information about whether a person who has, or may have, unsupervised contact with their child is a current reportable offender.

Applicants must provide evidence that they are the parent or legal guardian of the child or children. Acceptable evidence includes a Medicare card listing the child, or other government-issued documentation that confirms the parent or guardian relationship.

The term 'reportable offender' applies to a range of offenders and is defined in section 5 of the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004 (CPOROPOA). The majority of reportable offenders are persons who have been sentenced for a reportable offence, which is a sexual or other serious offence against a child. As a reportable offender, the person is required to report to police on a regular basis and update a range of personal details for the duration of their reporting period (which could range anywhere from 5 years through to life). Reportable offenders are subject to the Child Protection Register and are policed by specialist officers from the Queensland Police Service.

Other types of reportable offences include people who have an Offender Reporting Order or Offender Prohibition Order, people who are reportable offenders in other jurisdictions (in Australia and overseas) and who have moved to or visit Queensland for an extended period, offenders who are subject to a supervision order under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 for a child sexual offence (called 'post-DPSOA reportable offenders in the CPOROPOA).

No. This disclosure scheme only covers persons who are currently on Queensland's Child Protection Register. Referred to as 'reportable offenders', persons on the register must comply with reporting obligations set out under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004. This means that Daniel's Law does not necessarily cover anyone with a history of child sexual offending or anyone who has completed their reporting obligations and come off the Child Protection Register. For example, if a person is found guilty of a prescribed offence but the court decides not to record a conviction for that person, then they will not become a reportable offender. The legislation also includes some exemptions, which means certain reportable offenders are not eligible to be included in the disclosure scheme (including reportable offenders who are children or were children at the time of their offence).

A reportable offender must be served with an Initial Reporting Obligation Notice (an official notice that sets out all the reporting obligations that a person must adhere to while on the Child Protection Register) as soon as practicable after they:

• are sentenced for a reportable offence (or when they are made subject to an offender reporting order or offender prohibition order)
• they are released from a government detention facility (e.g. prison)
• enter Queensland and they meet the criteria to become a corresponding reportable offender in Queensland.

A reportable offender's reporting obligations are suspended while they are incarcerated or held in custody for any offence.

There are a number of ways that a person will stop being a reportable offender ('come off the Child Protection Register'). This is set out in section 8 of the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004. For example, they will stop being a reportable offender if:

• they come to the end of their reporting period (e.g. a reporting period of 5 years, 10 years or 20 years ends)
• if their conviction is quashed or set aside by a court, their sentence is reduced or amended in a way that they no longer meet the criteria for inclusion on the Child Protection Register.

A 'reportable offence' is defined in section 9 of the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004 (CPOROPOA). It refers to a sexual or other serious offence (a 'prescribed offence') committed against a child. These offences are listed in Schedule 1 of the CPOROPOA. If a person is convicted and sentenced for a reportable offence they will become a 'reportable offender'.

Under section 12 B of the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004 (CPOROPOA) the courts may make an Offender Reporting Order against a person. This type of order can be applied to a person who has been convicted of an offence other than a prescribed offence, but where the courts consider the person to pose a risk to the lives or sexual safety of a child or children more generally. A person who has an Offender Reporting Order has the same reporting obligations as a reportable offender.

Under section 13A of the CPOROPOA, the Police Commissioner may apply to the court for an Offender Prohibition Order against a person who is a relevant sex offender and who has engaged in concerning conduct that poses a risk to the lives or sexual safety of a child or children more generally. (such as loitering near a children's school or playground or seeking volunteering work or employment that will involve coming into contact with children). If granted, the order will impose specific conditions, such as wearing a tracking device, residing at a particular residence, or complying with another condition that is necessary to reduce the risk to children.

You will only be able to access information about a reportable offender who was under 18 at the time of their offence if they have committed and been convicted and sentenced for a new reportable offence as an adult or have an Offender Reporting Order or Offender Prohibition Order.

No. The purpose of the disclosure scheme is to provide parents, guardians or other persons who care for children access to information that may allow them to take action at an individual level, to keep children safe. While parents and guardians can communicate with their child or children in person in a private capacity for the purposes of safeguarding the child, it is an offence under the Community Protection and Public Child Sex Offender Register (Daniel's Law) Act 2025 to share information with other persons, such as family, friends and workmates.

The Bill grants the Police Commissioner a broad discretion to release or not release information about reportable offenders. In making such decisions, the Police Commissioner may have regard to all relevant matters including conviction history, the effect of publication on an ongoing investigation, the offender’s compliance with reporting obligations, any available or credible intelligence and any impacts on victims, where these are known.

Daniel's Law is retrospective, meaning that any person on the Child Protection Register at the time the legislation was passed is eligible to have their details disclosed.

As of October 2023, a person will stay on the register in Queensland for either 10 years, 20 years or for life depending on their offending history. Prior to this, the length of time on the Queensland Child Protection Register ranged from 5 years through to 15 years and life, depending on when they were convicted and sentenced.

If a person under the age of 18 is convicted and sentenced for a reportable offence, their reporting period will be halved (e.g. 5 years instead of 10 years).

No. There is no fee to apply for information under Daniel’s Law.

Processing times will vary depending on the type of application and the information required. Applicants will be notified once their application has been assessed.

If you submitted your Daniel's Law application online, you can track its progress by logging into the Queensland Government Service Portal.

Simply visit: https://www.beta.my.qld.gov.au and sign in using the same account you used to lodge your application.

Once logged in, your application status and any required next steps will be visible in your dashboard.

No. Reportable offenders will not be notified about who has applied for information.

You will only be able to withdraw a Parents and Guardians Disclosure application. You can do this by using the Additional Information request form available on the Community Protection Website and requesting a withdrawal. Please be aware that regardless of whether an application is withdrawn, the application may still trigger police to conduct inquiries.

You can contact the Daniel’s Law support team via danielslaw@police.qld.gov.au

Who can access information and what information people can access differs depending on the type of disclosure. For example, anyone can access the Missing Reportable Offender Webpage regardless of where they live or whether they have children. Only Queensland residents can make an application for a Locality Search; however, applicants do not have to have children in their care to be eligible to receive information. Only parents or guardians can make an application for a Parents and Guardians Disclosure, and 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.

No. While Daniel's Law refers to a 'Public Child Sex Offender Register', it is essentially a disclosure scheme that allows the Queensland Police Service to release particular information about certain reportable offenders who are on the non-public Child Protection Register. You will not be able to access a full list of reportable offenders in Queensland.

No. Information provided under Daniel’s Law must not be shared, posted online, or distributed to others. Misuse of the information may result in a criminal conviction.

If you are eligible to receive information under the Parents and Guardians Disclosure Scheme, you will receive a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. If you receive a ‘yes’ answer, this means the person you nominated as having unsupervised contact with your child or children is a current reportable offender under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004 or is subject to a supervision order or interim supervision order made under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003. No other information about the nominated person will be provided. For example, we cannot provide any information about the type of reportable offence the person was convicted of or when the offence occurred. A ‘no’ response does not mean that a nominated person does not pose a risk to a child or children in general; it simply means the person does not currently have reporting obligations.

The protection of children is central to Daniel's Law. Applications made under the Parents and Guardians Disclosure may trigger inquiries by police to make sure a nominated person does not pose a risk to children. For example, the police may need to make enquiries if the nominated person is not a current reportable offender but the applicant has indicated concerning behaviour or the person has come to police attention in the past. Any inquiries undertaken by the police will continue even if an application is withdrawn during the process.

If you apply for a Locality Search, you will receive images of reportable offenders who are considered to pose the greatest risk of reoffending against children based on the length of their reporting obligations and known repeat offending against children. Reportable offenders covered in the locality search include those who:

• are repeat child sex offenders, meaning they have committed a further reportable offence after receiving their Initial Reporting Obligations Notice; or
• must report to the Queensland Police Service for the remainder of their life (life-long reportable offenders); or
• are subject to a supervision order or interim supervision order made under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003; or
• are subject to a supervision order or interim supervision order made under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003; or
• the Police Commissioner considers pose a serious risk to the lives or sexual safety of a child of children generally.

No. You can only apply to receive images of reportable offenders eligible for a locality search release in the residential locality in which you currently live.

The personal details and photographs published on the Missing Reportable Offenders Webpage, are reportable offenders who have failed to comply with their reporting obligations or provided false or misleading information to police and whose location or whereabouts are not known to Police. Their details will remain on the webpage until their whereabouts is confirmed.

Yes, once police confirm that a missing offender has been located or no longer meets the criteria for publication, their photograph will be removed from the webpage.

The photographs are provided primarily for the purposes of enhanced public awareness and safety. If you recognise a missing offender or have any information concerning their current whereabouts or you have genuine concerns about your safety or the safety of any other person:

• Do not approach them directly.
• Contact the Queensland Police Service by calling 131 444 and quote the QP number from the Missing Reportable Offender Webpage
• Make an anonymous report through Crime Stoppers
• If you are in immediate danger, call triple zero (000)

No. The purpose of the disclosure scheme is to provide parents, guardians or other persons who care for children access to information that may allow them to take action at an individual level, to keep children safe. While parents and guardians can communicate with their child or children in person in a private capacity for the purposes of safeguarding the child, it is an offence under the Community Protection and Public Child Sex Offender Register (Daniel's Law) Act 2025 to share information with other persons, such as family, friends and workmates.

All persons accessing information under Daniel's Law will need to agree to the Community Protection Website terms of use and acknowledge the consequences of any misuse of information or intimidation or harassment of any individual in relation to information released. Images provided to applicants under the Location Search will be watermarked with the application number specific to the person receiving the information.