The Child Protection Register in NSW

First, the most-asked question: the register is not public

The NSW Child Protection Register is not a public register. It is maintained by the NSW Police Force and accessible only to police and authorised agencies for child-protection purposes. Australia does not operate a public notification scheme of the kind associated with Megan's Law in the United States: registered persons' names, addresses and photographs are not published, neighbours are not notified, and there is no list the public can search. Unauthorised disclosure of register information is itself an offence.

That matters practically. Registration restricts what you must tell police; it does not, of itself, announce anything to your community or your employer. The obligations are between you and the police — and the central task is meeting them accurately.

What triggers registration

Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW): a person sentenced for a Class 1 or Class 2 registrable offence becomes a registrable person and must comply with reporting obligations for the relevant reporting period.

Registration follows automatically from sentence for a registrable offence — it is a statutory consequence, not a separate order the court weighs up in the ordinary way. The Act divides registrable offences into two classes: Class 1 covers the most serious offences against children, including sexual intercourse offences; Class 2 covers a broader range, including sexual touching offences against children and the production or dissemination of child abuse material.

Two qualifications are worth knowing. A court can also make a child protection registration order in respect of an offence that is not automatically registrable, where satisfied the person poses a risk to the sexual safety of children. And there are limited carve-outs — for example, certain single Class 2 offences dealt with without conviction, and some matters involving offenders who were themselves children — where registration does not follow. Whether a particular sentence triggers registration is exactly the kind of question to resolve with advice before sentence, not after.

What must be reported

A registrable person must make an initial report to police within the statutory timeframe after sentencing or release from custody, and thereafter keep the information current. The relevant personal information includes:

• Name, and any other names used, and date of birth;
• Residential address — and the addresses of any other premises regularly stayed at;
• Employment details, including the nature and location of work;
• Details of any children who generally reside in the same household or with whom the person has regular unsupervised contact;
• Motor vehicles owned or regularly driven;
• Internet service providers, email addresses, and online and social media identities;
• Tattoos or other distinguishing marks;
• Club or organisation affiliations involving children;
• Intended travel — interstate and overseas travel must be reported in advance, with return reported afterwards.

In addition to event-based reporting, there is an annual report: each year, the registrable person must attend and confirm or update their details.

Reporting changes — the discipline the Act demands

Most obligations are triggered by change. A move, a new job, a new car, a new phone or email account, a new online identity, a new household arrangement involving children, planned travel — each must be reported within the timeframe the Act fixes for that kind of change, and some (travel in particular) must be reported before the event, not after. The timeframes are short, they differ by category, and the practical advice is unglamorous but important: treat reporting like a standing appointment, keep your own record of every report made, and when in doubt about whether something is reportable, report it or ask first.

How long the obligations last

Reporting periods are tiered by the class and number of registrable offences. Broadly:

• 8 years — a single Class 2 offence;
• 15 years — a single Class 1 offence, or more than one registrable offence;
• Life — for certain repeat combinations of registrable offences.

Periods for persons who were under 18 when they offended are generally half the corresponding adult period, and life reporting does not apply to them. Time spent in custody does not count towards the reporting period. In limited circumstances the Act allows application for suspension of obligations — whether that pathway is open in a particular case is a matter for specific advice.

Breach of reporting obligations

Failing to comply with a reporting obligation without reasonable excuse, or providing false or misleading information, is a criminal offence carrying substantial maximum penalties, including imprisonment. These prosecutions are common, and many arise from oversight rather than evasion — a move reported late, a vehicle overlooked, travel not notified in advance.

If you are charged with a breach, the questions that matter are practical ones: what exactly the obligation was, whether the timeframe truly expired, whether a reasonable excuse exists, and what the circumstances say about inadvertence versus concealment. Get advice before taking part in any interview about an alleged breach — the account given at that stage shapes the matter.

How Lenz Legal can help

Dean Lenz is an Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law. The firm advises on registration consequences before sentence — so they are understood and, where the law allows, properly argued about at the right time — and acts for people charged with reporting breaches, as well as advising registrable persons who simply want certainty about what the Act requires of them. Those conversations are confidential and conducted without judgment: the obligations are demanding, and getting them right is in everyone's interest.

The Child Protection Register — your questions answered