Police will be able to ask courts for restraining orders banning paedophiles from approaching schools or child-care centres under proposed new ACT laws.
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The Government will also seek to criminalise child sex offenders changing their name by deed poll and failing to tell police.
Cabinet this week agreed to a number of reforms of the laws governing the Child Sex Offenders Register, which keeps tabs on convicted child sex offenders, and people found guilty of child pornography crimes, living within the territory's borders. Attorney-General Simon Corbell said the proposed laws, which would be tabled in the Legislative Assembly later this year or early 2012, would ''give teeth'' to the register.
The Child Sex Offenders Register is operated by police and requires registered offenders to maintain up-to-date details.
But the ACT's registration scheme came under fire last year when the Ombudsman's office raised questions about its ability to stop sex offenders committing new crimes.
''This is all about giving teeth to our registration scheme and making sure that offenders don't come into inappropriate contact with children or young people,'' Mr Corbell said.
''And I think that gives the community confidence that the police have the powers they need to deal with registered sex offenders.''
Under the proposal, police could ask a magistrate to grant a ''prohibition order'' stopping a registered criminal from engaging in conduct deemed a risk to children.
''For example, it may prohibit the registered offender from going within a certain distance of a school or a child-care centre,'' the Attorney-General said.
''Or, for example, prevent them from being engaged in some sort of activity with a community organisation where there may be children or young people present.''
The magistrate would adjudicate on the application in a similar fashion to the way protection orders are already decided in the ACT Magistrates Court.
The introduction of prohibition orders would bring the territory into line with NSW, the Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia.
Under the Government's proposal, breaches of prohibition orders would leave sex offenders facing up to five years behind bars or fined as much as $55,000. The Bill will also increase the maximum penalty for failing to report a change of details from two years or $22,000 to five years and $55,000. Child sex offenders will also risk five years' jail if they change their name by deed poll and fail to inform police.
Mr Corbell said the Bill addressed a shortfall in the current laws, which contained no specific offence for failing to report a name change.
Earlier this year, six children were taken into the care of the territory after police discovered they were living under the same roofs as two convicted child sex offenders.
The two separate incidents in the same week only came to light after police arrested the men over unrelated matters.