Queensland’s first public child sex offender register has gone live, though some experts warn it may come with unintended consequences. 

Legislation to establish the register, dubbed Daniel’s Law in honour of Daniel Morcombe, was introduced into state parliament in August.

Sunshine Coast 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe was abducted and murdered by a convicted sex offender in December 2003. 

Police Minister Dan Purdie said the launch fulfilled a state government promise to have the register up and running by the end of 2025.

The Daniel's Law website showed no missing reportable offenders in Queesland on December 31, 2025 (Supplied)

The site went live around 11am on Wednesday and showed there were zero non-compliant reportable offenders whose whereabouts were not known to police in Queensland at the time of the launch.

Mr Purdie said information technology experts had assured him the public register "had capacity" to withstand an influx of inquiries.

What does the register involve?

The register consists of three elements.

The first involves a webpage, which lists reportable offenders who have failed to comply with reporting obligations or whose whereabouts are unknown.

The offender’s full name, photograph and year of birth will be accessible by members of the public once they agree not to misuse the information.

Queensland police minister Dan Purdie says the government had been reassured there would be capacity to withstand the influx of inquiries, and additional staff would be available when the register went live. (ABC News: Lucas Hill)

The second element allows Queenslanders to apply to view images of reportable sex offenders who live in their local area.

The government says this will apply to offenders with the "greatest risk" of reoffending, including those who have reporting obligations for life.

It can also include offenders who are subject to a supervision order under the Dangerous Prisoners Sexual Offenders Act.

Only images of the offender will be supplied, which means their names and dates of birth will not be disclosed.

Proof of ID needed to search area

People need to provide a Queensland driver’s licence, or proof of a Queensland residential address, before being able to do a locality search. 

Address verification documents, such as electricity or phone bills, council rates notices, credit card statements, or rental agreements must be certified by an authorised official. Documents provided must be less than six months old.

A person whose application is successful will be given access to images of offenders who live in their suburb and those adjoining it.

Denise and Bruce Morcombe have advocated for child safety since their son Daniel's abduction. (ABC News: Scott Ross)

Those living in regional and rural areas can access images of offenders living in their town as well as adjoining towns.

The final element of the register allows parents and guardians to apply to find out if someone having unsupervised contact with their child is a reportable offender.

They will be asked to include Medicare card details that lists the child or children as part of the application.

If the child is not listed on their Medicare card, they must provide other evidence of parental or guardianship responsibility, such as a birth certificate or court issued parenting orders. 

Daniel's parents Denise and Bruce Morcombe with Police Minister Dan Purdie and Premier David Crisafulli (ABC News: William Murray)

These must be notarised by an authorised official, such as a police officer, justice of the peace, lawyer, or pharmacist.

A reportable offender is considered someone who has committed offences, such as grooming a child under 16, indecent treatment of a child, and making or distributing child exploitation material.

Mr Purdie encouraged Queenslanders to use the register to "put protective strategies in place to protect our young people".

The opposition spokesperson for police, Glenn Butcher, said Labor supported measures to keep Queensland children "safe from predators".

"That’s why we backed this initiative in the parliament to give voice to Daniel’s Law," he said.

The site launched on Wednesday, 31 December, 2025. (Supplied)

Penalties for misuse

Daniel’s Law includes safeguards aimed at stopping vigilantism and prohibiting people from targeting offenders.

Those who misuse information provided on the register to intimidate or harass an offender, or incite someone to do so, face up to 10 years behind bars.

Anyone who engages in conduct likely to intimidate or harass someone through the register will face up to three years in jail.

Unauthorised sharing of information obtained through the register is also an offence, with a maximum penalty of three years behind bars.

The register can be accessed on the Queensland Government's Community Protection and Public Child Sex Offender Register website. 

Expert warns of unintended consequences

Rick Sarre, an Emeritus Professor of Law and Criminal Justice at Adelaide University, said evidence from other parts of the world showed public registers do little to protect people.

"There's not a jurisdiction in the world where this has had any effect on reducing criminality or protecting victims," he said.

"I can't see any benefit coming from it."

Dr Sarre said most sex offenders were known to their victims and not all were convicted, and a public register could lead to a false sense of security within the community.

He said while protecting minors was essential, there were better ways to do reduce child sex offending.

Dr Sarre said registration did not deter offending or encourage rehabilitation and could instead have unintended consequences, such as families of offenders being targeted, vigilantism or people being misidentified.

"What will happen also is that there'll be some young couples, for example, two 15-year-olds having sex with each other — both will now be on the register [if convicted]," he said.

"They may also make mistakes with names — that leads to injustices when the same names come up and we suddenly realise the person being targeted had nothing to do with the offence.

"The grassroots solutions have to do with the psychiatric, sociological, and psychological services to those people who display these sorts of tendencies."