Child Protection Services

CrimTrac is responsible for the ongoing delivery of the child offender register services and the development of technologies that support the management of child offenders and the investigation of child exploitation.

Australian National Child Offender Register (ANCOR)

CrimTrac currently operates the Australian National Child Offender Register (ANCOR), a system designed to enable registrars to achieve a nationally consistent approach to child offender registration and to support the management of such offenders.

It allows authorised police officers to register, case manage and share information about registered persons between police agencies. It assists all agencies to comply with States and Territories respective child protection legislation.

What offences does ANCOR registration relate to?

The general objective of the legislation is to ensure that persons convicted of sex offences and other serious offences against children are able to be monitored by police once they have served their sentence.

Jurisdictional legislation determines what a registrable offence is, and this may vary between states and territories.

The table below gives the relevant legislation by state or territory.

Jurisdiction	Legislation
ACT	Crimes (Child Sex Offenders) Act 2005
NSW	Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2001
NT	Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Registration) Act 2004
QLD	Child Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004
SA	Child Sex Offenders Registration Act 2006
TAS	Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2005
VIC	Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004
WA	Community Protection (Offender Reporting) Act 2004

As at 01 March 2011 there were 12,596 registered offenders across Australia.

Registering and reporting

• A registrable offender must be served with a notice to inform them that they need to register.
• Once registered, the offender must also be notified in writing of their continued reporting obligations.
• Offenders are required to at least report annually but some jurisdictions have legislation that allows them to make offenders report more often, particularly if there is a high risk of reoffending.

Mandatory and optional reporting requirements

A registered offender is required to provide the following information to police:

• Names
• Alias/Pseudonym
• Physical Description
• Physical Addresses
• Children of Interest
• Employment
• Education
• Vehicles
• Affiliations
• Offences
• Travel
• Reporting Period

Registered persons may also be asked to provide the optional information on ID document details, special needs and associations.

ANCOR case lifecycle

Authorized police use ANCOR to manage persons convicted of child sex offences and other specified offences. A child sex offender case typically moves through the following stages on ANCOR:

• Person charged with a registrable offence (Charged);
• Offender has a custodial sentence (In Custody);
• Offender has been released from custody but is yet to be served with the notice to inform them they are required to register (Notification Required);
• The notice has been served and the offender is within the allowable time limits to register (Pending Registration);
• Offender has reported and registered in accordance with legislation (Registered); or
• Offender has not registered within the allowable time limit - they are in breach of reporting conditions (Registration Overdue); and
• Reporting period has ended (Finalised).

Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS)

Development of the national implementation of a Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS) will be completed in 2011-12. It will be delivered in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police, the Queensland Police Service and Microsoft.

This technology presents significant benefits for law enforcement in Australia and around the world.