History

Daniel’s Law is a piece of legislation brought in to force by the Crisafulli Government through the passing of the Community Protection and Public Child Sex Offender Register (Daniel’s Law) Act 2025.

Daniel’s Law was introduced to the Queensland Parliament on 27 August 2025 and received Royal Assent on 6 November 2025. The legislation fully commenced on 31 December 2025. Daniel’s law brought with it Queensland’s first public child sex offender registry.

The legislation was a result of more than two decades of lobbying by Bruce and Denise Morcombe following the death of their child, Daniel Morcombe, in 2003.

The Registry

Queenslanders will be able to access information on the public child sex offender registry through a three-tiered disclosure framework:

  • Tier 1: A public website listing reportable offenders who have breached obligations and whose whereabouts are unknown to police. The offenders full name, photograph and year of birth will be accessible by members of the public.
  • Tier 2: An online application for Queensland residents to view photographs of reportable offenders living in their local area.

Tier 2 includes offenders who:

    • Are repeat offenders;
    • Have lifetime reporting obligations under the  Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004;
    • Are under Dangerous Prisoners Sexual Offenders Act 2003 supervision;
    • Are considered by the Commissioner to pose a serious risk to children.
  • Tier 3: An online application for parents and guardians to confirm the offender status of a person who has had, or will have, unsupervised contact with their child.

Accessing the Registry

Tier 1: The public can access reportable offenders whose whereabouts are currently not known to police on the Daniel’s law website: Missing Reportable Offenders | Daniel’s Law

Tier 2: Individuals can access photos of serious and high-risk offenders who live in their area by submitting proof of Queensland residence, or their drivers license. Only facial images from within the applicant’s locality are shown. NOTE: names, addresses and person information regarding offenders is not disclosed.

Tier 3: To access Tier 3 information, parents must submit proof of guardianship and explain what unsupervised contact the nominated person has or may have had with a child or children.

Non-Disclosure

The public register will not enable the publication or disclosure of information:

  • About an offender who is under the age of 18 years, or who was under the age of 18 years at the time they committed a child sexual offence and has not reoffended or engaged in particular conduct as an adult;
  • About an offender who is a participant in a witness protection program; or
  • Where a court has prohibited identification of the offender or the disclosure or publication of personal information about the offender.

Safeguards to Prevent Misuse

Daniel’s Law brought with it several new offences with the purpose of preventing misuse and publication of information accessed by the public. The law introduces penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment for inciting violence or harassment using the register, and up to 3 years imprisonment for unauthorized disclosure of restricted information.

Human Rights

Daniel’s Law brings rise to several human rights concerns. Many are concerned that naming offenders publicly could violate a person’s right to privacy or indirectly expose victims. Daniel’s law reduces this risk by giving police discretion to withhold identifying information if it endangers victims.

Parliament passed Daniel’s Law utilising a direction under Section 43 of the Human Rights Act, allowing Parliament to explicitly declare that a law will operate despite being inconsistent with human rights protections.

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