By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 20 April 2026.
Key points
- Automatic: an adult sentenced for a Class 1 or Class 2 child sex offence goes on the register automatically, in any court. Other offences, and offences committed as a child, need a court order.
- How long: 8 years, 15 years or life, by the number and class of offences; halved for offences committed as a child.
- Report a new address, or contact with a child, within one day. Other changes within 7 days; trips out of Victoria of 2 or more days, and any overseas trip, at least 7 days before.
- Breaches: up to 5 years' jail or a $125,460 fine for most; 2 years or $50,184 for some details.
- Child-related work is banned, and so is applying for a Working with Children Check. Leaving Australia needs written permission.
- No public register. Life registrants can ask the Supreme Court to suspend reporting after 15 years.
- For a lawyer, call 1800 577 015 at any hour: free general legal information, and a 60-minute consultation with a Victorian lawyer for a fixed $295.
In Victoria, an adult sentenced for a Class 1 or Class 2 child sex offence is placed on the Sex Offender Register automatically, must report to police for 8 years, 15 years or life, and must report a change of address within one day.
Checked on 23 October 2026 against the Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic, authorised version 079) and its 2024 Regulations, the Sentencing Act 1991, the Worker Screening Act 2020, the Serious Offenders Act 2018, the Commonwealth Criminal Code, Victoria Police and Victoria Legal Aid.
Who must register
- Automatically: anyone sentenced, as an adult (18 or over at the offence), for a Class 1 or Class 2 offence. Class 1 covers mainly offences involving sexual penetration of a child, persistent sexual abuse of a child and similar offences; Class 2 covers other child sexual offences, including sexual assault of a child, grooming, loitering near schools and child abuse material offences. "Sentence" includes non-custodial orders and even a diversion adjournment.
- By court order: for other offences, and for any offence committed as a child, if the court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the person poses a risk to the sexual safety of anyone; the prosecution must apply within 45 days after sentence.
- On a supervision or detention order: the Supreme or County Court must order registration when it makes or confirms a post-sentence order for a serious sex offender who is not already registered.
- From elsewhere: people still required to report in another state or country are registrable in Victoria.
How long reporting lasts
| Offences | Reporting period |
|---|---|
| One Class 2 offence | 8 years |
| One Class 1 offence (other than persistent sexual abuse), or two Class 2 offences | 15 years |
| Two or more Class 1 offences; persistent sexual abuse of a child; a Class 1 and a Class 2 offence; three or more Class 2 offences | Life |
| Every offence committed as a child (under 18) | Half: 4 or 7.5 years (7.5 years in place of life) |
| A serious sex offender on a post-sentence supervision or detention order | The normal period, or 5 years after that order ends, whichever is later |
Offences against the same person within 24 hours count as one. Reporting starts at sentence or on release from custody, whichever is later; time in custody is added on, and a person still on parole reports until the end of the prison term.
What you must report, and when
| What | When |
|---|---|
| First report (in person) | Within 7 days after sentence, or after release from custody; someone arriving from interstate or overseas, within 7 days after being in Victoria 14 or more days in a row |
| Yearly report (in person) | By the end of the month of the anniversary of the first report |
| New address, or contact with a child | Within one day (a new address in person) |
| Any other change (job, car, phone, email, user names, and so on) | Within 7 days |
| Leaving Victoria for 2 or more days in a row, or any overseas trip | At least 7 days before leaving (24 hours before if 7 days is impracticable), with destinations, dates and addresses |
| Back from interstate | Within 7 days |
| Back from overseas (in person) | Within one day after being back 2 or more days, with your passport and travel documents |
What you report: names and former names; date of birth; every address where you generally live (somewhere you stay 7 or more days in 12 months), or where you sleep if you have no address; phone numbers, email addresses, internet provider and every online user name; each child you have contact with; your job, employer and workplaces, including volunteer and self-employed work; clubs with child members; vehicles you own or drive on 7 or more days a year; tattoos and permanent marks; findings and orders elsewhere; time in custody; and your passport. "Contact with a child" includes living or staying overnight where a child is, caring for or supervising a child, swapping contact details, and any contact to build a personal relationship.
Reports are made at the police station you are directed to, or another approved place. You must show identification, and police can take fingerprints and photographs. You can report away from public view with a support person, and someone living more than 100 km from a station can agree a later time.
Penalties
| Offence | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Failing to comply with most reporting obligations (address, contact with children, phones, email, user names, work, clubs, passport, travel) | 5 years' jail; a fine of up to $125,460 instead or as well |
| Failing to report your names, date of birth, vehicles, tattoos or a frequent travel pattern | 2 years' jail or a fine of up to $50,184 |
| Giving false or misleading information | 2 or 5 years, depending on the detail |
| Applying for or doing child-related work | 2 years' jail or $50,184 |
| Applying for a Working with Children Check | 2 years' jail or $50,184 |
| Breaching a prohibition order | 5 years' jail |
| Changing your name without police approval | $1,045.50 |
| Loitering near a school, childcare centre or other place children go, after being found guilty of a sexual offence | 5 years' jail |
Fines use the 2026-27 penalty unit of $209.10. There is no offence if you had a reasonable excuse (the court considers your age, any disability and whether you were properly told of the obligation), and it is a defence for you to prove you were never given notice of the obligation and did not otherwise know of it. There is no time limit to prosecute. If the charge is heard in the Magistrates' Court, the most it can impose is 2 years' jail or a $104,550 fine.
Other restrictions
- Child-related work is banned outright: paid or unpaid, volunteer or self-employed, in schools, childcare, clubs, coaching and tutoring, camps, children's transport, entertainment and photography, and more. You cannot even apply for a Working with Children Check.
- Prohibition orders: police can ask the Magistrates' Court (or the Children's Court for a child) for an order limiting contact with children, places, where you live, work, alcohol and drugs, with monitoring. An order lasts up to 5 years for an adult and 2 years for a child.
- Serious sex offenders can be placed on post-sentence supervision or detention orders by the Supreme or County Court; making one also brings a registration order of at least 15 years.
- Changing your name, or the sex on your birth record, needs the Chief Commissioner of Police's written approval.
- Where you live: the Act has no general rule, but a prohibition or supervision order can set one.
- 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.
Who can see the register
- There is no public register in Victoria. Only people the Chief Commissioner authorises can see it, and they commit an offence if they disclose it.
- Missing offenders: police can publish the details of an adult registrant who has stopped complying and cannot be found, and remove them once found.
- Victims: since 10 December 2025, police can tell a victim (or a child victim's parent) about applications such as an exemption, a suspension or a name change, and their outcome.
- Your own record: you can get a copy of your register information and have errors corrected.
Ending or suspending reporting
| Route | Who, and when | Test |
|---|---|---|
| Suspension of life reporting by the Supreme Court | The registrant, after 15 years (not counting custody) since last sentenced or released, and not on parole. If refused, wait 5 years | No or low risk to anyone's sexual safety, and in the public interest |
| Suspension on a police application | The Chief Commissioner, at any time, to the court that sentenced | The same |
| Suspension by police notice | The Chief Commissioner, for up to 5 years, renewable | No or low risk |
| Exemption for 18- and 19-year-olds | A person aged 18 or 19 at a listed offence, within 6 months of first being told of the obligation, to the sentencing court | Every victim was 14 or over, the person poses no or low risk, and is not otherwise registrable |
| Appeal | The registrant | Registration ends if the conviction or the order is quashed |
A spent conviction does not end registration or reporting.
Young people
- Offences committed as a child are not registered automatically. A court can order registration only if satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of a risk to sexual safety, on a prosecution application within 45 days, and not after a formal-warning dismissal, a fine or a good behaviour order.
- The periods are halved (4 or 7.5 years), a child reports with a parent or independent person, and police never publish a child registrant's details.
Recent changes
Since 11 September 2025 a serious sex offender on a post-sentence supervision or detention order reports until at least 5 years after the order ends. Since 10 December 2025 police can tell victims about some applications. Since 9 February 2026 police can notify the worker screening regulator. No change to the Act that has yet to start was shown on the official register on 23 October 2026.
Free legal help in Victoria
| Service | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria Legal Aid, Legal Help | 1300 792 387 | 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday |
| Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service | 1800 064 865 | Its own page does not state hours |
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 Victoria is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person where the lawyer offers it. The lawyer can advise whether registration applies to a charge or sentence, an exemption or 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 Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic), authorised version 079 (amendments as at 30 September 2026), the Sex Offenders Registration Regulations 2024, the Sentencing Act 1991 (version 234), the Worker Screening Act 2020 (version 018), the Serious Offenders Act 2018 (version 015), the Crimes Act 1958 (version 323), the Youth Justice Act 2024, the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth, compilation 174), Victoria Police, the Australian Passport Office and Victoria Legal Aid, on 23 October 2026. Penalty unit $209.10 for 2026-27.