A convicted child molester was prevented from flying overseas from Sydney airport on Wednesday under new laws designed to stop Australian paedophiles from travelling to south-east Asia for sex tourism. The legislation, which took effect on Wednesday, prohibits the 20,000 individuals listed on the Australian child sex offender register from leaving the country except for purposes approved by law enforcement agencies.
Australian foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop declined to disclose the destination of the paedophile stopped in Sydney, who was being questioned by police. Under the new laws, it is now a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison for registered child molesters to leave Australia without permission.
About 320 convicted sex offenders left Australia last year without registering their travel plans with authorities. Bishop noted that offenders have a high propensity to reoffend in countries where they are not monitored and where child sex exploitation is rampant. The register will gain approximately 2,500 new convicted paedophiles each year, who will lose their passports under the new laws.
The register contains 3,200 serious offenders banned from travel for life, while less serious offenders may be removed after several years of compliance and become eligible for passport renewal. Justice minister Michael Keenan described the laws as the most comprehensive of their kind globally.
Child welfare advocates had lobbied for the change, highlighting that under previous law, bankrupt individuals could not travel overseas without a trustee's permission, but convicted paedophiles were free to continue offending abroad. Bishop stated that Asia-Pacific governments had urged Australia to take stronger action against child sex tourists.
