By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 15 April 2026.
Key points
- Tasmania's register covers sexual offences against children and adults, and some other serious offences such as abduction and stalking.
- Always by court order: for a Class 1, 2 or 3 offence the court must order registration unless satisfied there is no future risk.
- How long: the court sets the period, up to 8 years, 15 years or life; up to 4 years or 7 years 6 months for offences committed as a child.
- Report within 7 days of the order (3 days for arrivals from interstate); a change in contact with a child within 24 hours; any trip out of Tasmania 7 days before.
- Breaches: up to $21,300 or 2 years' jail, or both.
- No public register. A magistrate can suspend reporting after 15 years (life) or three-quarters of the period.
- For a lawyer, call 1800 577 015 at any hour: free general legal information, and a 60-minute consultation with a Tasmanian lawyer for a fixed $295.
In Tasmania, a court sentencing a person for a Class 1, 2 or 3 offence must order them onto the Community Protection Offender Register unless satisfied they pose no future risk, and the court then sets a reporting period of up to 8 years, 15 years or life.
Checked on 23 October 2026 against the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 (Tas, as in force on 23 October 2026) and its 2025 Regulations, the Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Act 2013, the Commonwealth Criminal Code, the Parliament of Tasmania, the Department of Justice and Tasmania Legal Aid.
Who must register
- By court order, always. For an offence in Class 1, 2 or 3, the court must make the order when it sentences, unless it is satisfied the person does not pose a risk of committing a reportable offence in the future. No identified victim is needed.
- The classes: Class 1 includes possessing or accessing child exploitation material, indecency and some indecent behaviour offences; Class 2 includes making or distributing child exploitation material, sexual abuse of a child or young person, indecent assault, incest, abduction of a young person and stalking; Class 3 includes rape, procuring and grooming a child, and kidnapping. Murder or manslaughter linked to a listed offence is included.
- Other offences: the court may order registration if satisfied the person poses a risk of committing a reportable offence; that is treated as Class 2 for the period. Orders are decided on the balance of probabilities and can be appealed like a sentence.
- From elsewhere: people registered in another state may have to report here.
How long reporting lasts
| Offences | Maximum period (the court sets the actual period) |
|---|---|
| Not more than one Class 1 offence | Up to 8 years |
| Not more than one Class 2 offence, or not more than one Class 3 offence, or more than one Class 1 offence | Up to 15 years |
| Two or more Class 2 offences; two or more Class 3 offences; Class 2 and Class 3 offences; murder or manslaughter linked to a listed sexual or other offence | Life, or a shorter period the court sets |
| Offences committed as a child | Up to 4 years (8-year category), or up to 7 years 6 months (15-year and life categories) |
Reporting is suspended while you are in custody (and the period is extended by that time), while you are outside Tasmania (except the travel duties), or under an exemption order.
What you must report, and when
| What | When |
|---|---|
| First report | Within 7 days of the order, or within 7 days after release from custody |
| Someone registered elsewhere arriving in Tasmania | Within 3 days, for a stay of any length |
| Yearly report | In the month you first reported, or when the Registrar directs |
| Change in reportable contact with a child | Within 24 hours |
| Any other change in your details | Within 7 days |
| Leaving Tasmania for any period | At least 7 days before (24 hours if 7 days is impracticable), with destinations, dates, addresses and your passports |
| Back in Tasmania | Within 7 days, with your passports |
What you report: names and former names, and any application to change them; date of birth; home addresses and premises you can freely use (such as storage); the names and ages of children you have reportable contact with, their school or child care, and any family law orders about them; your work and clubs with child members; vehicles, including boats, caravans and jet skis; tattoos, marks and appearance-changing surgery; phone numbers and internet services; email addresses, user names and the passwords for them; passwords or help needed to access your devices; findings of guilt elsewhere; and time in custody. "Reportable contact" includes living in the same place as a child, or caring for or supervising a child, on 3 days in 12 months, and contact to invite further contact.
Reports are made in person, at a place the Registrar approves, to the Registrar or a police officer of sergeant rank or above. A child, a person with a disability or a person needing an interpreter can be accompanied.
Penalties
| Offence | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Failing to comply with reporting obligations without a reasonable excuse | 100 penalty units ($21,300) or 2 years' jail, or both |
| False or misleading information | $21,300 or 6 months, or both |
| Breaching a community protection order | $21,300 or 6 months, or both |
| Not giving police a password or help to access a device, or not allowing entry and inspection | $21,300 or 6 months, or both |
| Working with children without registration to work with vulnerable people | 200 penalty units ($42,600) or 2 years, or both |
Dollar figures use the 2026-27 penalty unit of $213. Proceedings can be started at any time; there is no time limit.
Other restrictions, and who can see the register
- Working with children needs registration to work with vulnerable people, and a conviction for a listed offence against a child brings a proposed refusal. The register law itself has no work ban today.
- Community protection orders: on a police application, a magistrate can restrict association, places, work, alcohol and drugs for a registrant who poses a risk to children, for up to 12 months at a time.
- Police powers: police can enter and inspect your reported home without a warrant to check your details, and search places, vehicles and devices on reasonable suspicion of an offence against the Act.
- Changing your name: the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages must tell police of your application, and the Commissioner can order it refused.
- Who can see the register: only people the Commissioner authorises. Tasmania has no public register. Police (or the child protection secretary) may tell a parent, guardian or carer that a person with reportable contact with their child is a registrant, where that is necessary for the child's safety, and police can publish details of an adult registrant who has failed to report and cannot be found.
- Leaving Australia needs written permission from a competent authority. 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. A state travel report is a separate duty and is not the same as permission.
Ending reporting early
- Apply to a magistrate: after 15 years since you were last sentenced or released if your reporting is for life (not for murder), or after complying for at least three-quarters of your period otherwise; not while on parole.
- The test: that you do not pose a risk of committing a reportable offence in the future. Police, the child protection and corrections secretaries and the Director of Public Prosecutions can take part. No costs are awarded. If refused, wait 5 years unless the magistrate orders otherwise.
- Young registrants: police can vary or suspend a child's reporting if satisfied there is no risk to children.
Changes being discussed
A Bill introduced on 4 November 2025 (called Daniel's Law) would add a ban on child-related work, raise the main penalty to 200 penalty units or 3 years, and create an application scheme for parents. It is not law. A parliamentary committee reported on 5 October 2026 that it should be withdrawn and a new Bill drafted.
Free legal help in Tasmania
| Service | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Tasmania Legal Aid, Legal Help | 1300 366 611 | 8:45am to 5pm, Monday to Friday; the Hobart and Launceston offices see people without an appointment |
| Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service | Free call 1800 595 162 | Lawyers on call at any hour for people in police custody |
At court, ask reception staff for the duty lawyer on that day.
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 Tasmania is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person where the lawyer offers it. The lawyer can advise whether registration is likely at sentence and what evidence of no risk the court considers, the length the court may set, an application to end reporting early, and what to do about a missed report. 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 Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005 (Tas), as in force on 23 October 2026 (read through the official register's web page), and the Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Regulations 2025, the Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Act 2013, the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) section 271A.1, the Department of Justice's penalty units page ($213 for 2026-27), the Parliament of Tasmania's bill and committee pages, Tasmania Legal Aid and the Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service, on 23 October 2026.