By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 15 April 2026.
Key points
- Automatic: a person sentenced for a prescribed offence (child sex offences, and some offences such as rape and murder only where the victim was a child) becomes a reportable offender, unless no conviction was recorded.
- How long, for offences from 1 October 2023: 10 years, 20 years for an offence after being told of obligations, or life. Older offences: 5 or 10 years.
- Report every February, May, August and November; contact with a child within 24 hours; other changes within 7 days; trips out of Queensland of 48 hours or more, 7 days before.
- Breaches: up to $51,810 or 5 years' jail, with no time limit to prosecute.
- Daniel's Law (from 31 December 2025): missing offenders online, photos of repeat or high-risk offenders for residents, and yes-or-no checks for parents.
- No blue card. Name changes need police permission; leaving Australia needs written permission.
- For a lawyer, call 1800 577 015 at any hour: free general legal information, and a 60-minute consultation with a Queensland lawyer for a fixed $295.
In Queensland, a person sentenced for a child sex offence committed on or after 1 October 2023 must report to police for 10 years, 20 years or life, and since 31 December 2025 the public can check parts of the register under Daniel's Law.
Checked on 23 October 2026 against the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004 (Qld, current as at 1 April 2026) and its Regulation, the Working with Children Check Act 2000, the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, the Youth Justice Act 1992, the Commonwealth Criminal Code, Queensland Police, the Daniel's Law site and Legal Aid Queensland.
Who must register
- Automatically: a person sentenced for a prescribed offence (listed in Schedule 1 of the Act), whenever it was committed. These include indecent treatment of a child under 16, intercourse with a child under 16, using the internet to procure a child, grooming a child or a child's parent, child exploitation material offences, repeated sexual conduct with a child, and Commonwealth child sex offences. Some offences count only where the victim was a child, including rape, sexual assault, incest and murder.
- Exceptions: no automatic registration where no conviction was recorded, or for a single offence where the sentence had no jail and no supervision.
- By court order: a court convicting someone of another offence (recording a conviction) can order reporting if satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the person poses a risk to the lives or sexual safety of children; the prosecution can apply within 6 months.
- Others: people under a prohibition order, interstate registrants and people formerly under a dangerous prisoners order.
How long reporting lasts
| Situation | Reporting period |
|---|---|
| Offence committed on or after 1 October 2023 | 10 years |
| A single offence committed on or after 1 October 2023 after being told of reporting obligations | 20 years |
| Offence committed before 1 October 2023 | 5 years (10 years for a single offence after being told of obligations) |
| Convicted of more than one reportable offence committed after being told of obligations | Life |
| Anyone ever under a dangerous prisoners detention or supervision order | Life |
| Offences committed as a child | 2.5 or 5 years (older offences); 4 or 7.5 years (offences from 1 October 2023); 7.5 years in place of life |
Time in detention is added on, a person on parole reports until the end of the prison term, and a person under a prohibition order reports while the order lasts.
What you must report, and when
| What | When |
|---|---|
| First report (in person) | On receiving the police notice (within 7 days if that is not reasonably practicable); without a notice, within 7 days after sentence or release, whichever is later; arrivals, within 7 days after being in Queensland 7 days in a row |
| Regular reports | Every February, May, August and November (police can require more often) |
| Contact with a child | Within 24 hours |
| Any other change | Within 7 days (or before leaving Queensland) |
| Leaving Queensland for 48 hours or more, or any overseas trip | At least 7 days before (24 hours before if 7 days is impracticable), including any child travelling with you |
| Change of plans while away | Within 48 hours |
| Back in Queensland | Within 48 hours after being back 48 hours in a row; after an overseas trip, with copies of your passport and travel documents |
What you report: names and former names; date and place of birth; tattoos and marks; your address; details of each child you have contact with; your job, employer and workplaces; clubs with children; vehicles you own or drive on 7 or more days a year; orders and convictions elsewhere; phone and internet services; social media, email and messaging accounts including passwords; digital devices and any apps that hide identity, location or data; passports; and frequent travel. Reports after the first can be made by phone (the Child Protection Offender Registry, 1300 552 931, 8am to 4pm on weekdays), online, by mail or at a kiosk, as the police notice allows.
Penalties
| Offence | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Failing to comply with reporting obligations without a reasonable excuse | $51,810 (300 penalty units) or 5 years' jail |
| Giving false or misleading information | $51,810 or 5 years |
| Breaching a prohibition order | $51,810 or 5 years |
| Refusing police access to a phone or computer when lawfully required | $51,810 or 5 years |
| Changing your name without police permission | $3,454 or 6 months |
| Working with children without a clearance while disqualified | $86,350 or 5 years |
Failing to comply is a crime. If dealt with in the Magistrates Court the maximum is $34,540 or 3 years. There is no time limit to prosecute. The court considers your age, any disability and whether you were properly told of the obligation, and it is a defence to show you were never given notice and did not otherwise know of it. Penalty unit $172.70 from 1 July 2026.
Daniel's Law: the public register
Daniel's Law started on 31 December 2025. It opened parts of the register to the public in three ways (danielslaw.qld.gov.au):
- Missing offenders: police can publish a photo, name and year of birth of a reportable offender who has stopped complying and cannot be found, and remove it once found.
- Offenders in your area: a Queensland resident can ask for photos of reportable offenders living in their area; police can release only those of repeat offenders, people under a dangerous prisoners supervision order, or offenders police consider a serious risk.
- A parent's check: a parent can ask whether a named person who has, or will have, unsupervised contact with their child is a reportable offender. The answer is yes or no.
Children, and people who offended only as children, are left out. Misusing the information is an offence: up to 3 years' jail for publishing it without police approval or for public conduct likely to intimidate or harass, and up to 10 years for doing so intending to intimidate or harass.
Other restrictions
- Blue card: a person with reporting obligations is disqualified, and an application must be refused. After the obligations end, an application must still be refused unless it is an exceptional case.
- Offender prohibition orders: police can ask the Magistrates Court (or the Childrens Court) for an order where a reportable offender's conduct shows an unacceptable risk to children. It can limit who you meet, places (for example within 200 metres of a school), where you live and work, and can require a tracking device. It lasts up to 5 years for an adult and 2 years for a child.
- Dangerous prisoners: the Attorney-General can ask the Supreme Court for continuing detention or supervision of a prisoner who poses an unacceptable risk of a serious sexual offence; anyone ever under such an order reports for life.
- Changing your name needs the police commissioner's written permission.
- Leaving Australia needs written permission from the authority you report to. Leaving without it while you have reporting obligations is a Commonwealth offence with a maximum of 5 years' jail, and your passport can be refused or cancelled. The Australian Passport Office suggests applying at least 3 months before travel.
Ending or suspending reporting
| Route | Who, and when | Test |
|---|---|---|
| Suspension of life reporting by the Supreme Court | The registrant, after 15 years (life reporting before 1 October 2023) or 25 years (otherwise), not counting detention, and not on parole. If refused, wait 5 years | Does not pose a risk to the safety of children |
| Suspension by the police commissioner | On the commissioner's own initiative or an application, for a person who offended as a child, or has a significant impairment or significant mental illness | Does not pose a risk to the lives or sexual safety of children. Internal review, then a Magistrates Court appeal, each within 28 days |
| Review of being placed on the register, or of the period | The person, within 28 days after the first police notice | Placed in error, or the period worked out wrongly |
A spent conviction does not end reporting. A person stops being a reportable offender when all their reporting periods end.
Young people
- A conviction is normally not recorded against a child, and without a recorded conviction a child is not a reportable offender for that offence.
- Periods for offences committed as a child are shorter (2.5 to 7.5 years), police can suspend reporting for someone who offended as a child and poses no risk, and children are never on the Daniel's Law register.
Recent changes
New reporting periods (10 and 20 years) apply to offences committed from 1 October 2023. Courts have been able to make offender reporting orders since 1 September 2023. Daniel's Law started on 31 December 2025. The Act's full name is now the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004.
Free legal help in Queensland
| Service | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Legal Aid Queensland, Legal Information Line | 1300 65 11 88 | 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday, except public holidays |
| Legal Aid Queensland, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Information Line | 1300 65 01 43 | Not separately stated |
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (Qld) | 1800 012 255 | Business hours; after hours for custody only |
How Go To Court Lawyers can help
Our free line, 1800 577 015, answers at any hour. Jen, our AI legal information assistant, gives general legal information and takes your details; Jen is not a lawyer and does not give advice about your case. A 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in Queensland is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person where the lawyer offers it. The lawyer can advise whether a charge or sentence brings registration, a review of your period, a suspension application, and what to do about a missed report or a breach charge. Requests are taken at any hour; how soon a lawyer can see you depends on who is available. Request a $295 consultation.
General information only, not legal advice. Updated 23 October 2026. Checked against the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act 2004 (Qld), current as at 1 April 2026, and its Regulation 2015, the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 and Regulation 2025 (penalty unit $172.70 from 1 July 2026), the Working with Children Check Act 2000, the Youth Justice Act 1992, the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003, the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth, compilation 174), Queensland Police, the Daniel's Law site, the Australian Passport Office, Legal Aid Queensland and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service, on 23 October 2026.