The law reforms expand the powers of police to enter and search the premises of all registrable child sex offenders to ensure they are complying with their requirements as registrable offenders.

Until now, police were only able to exercise this search power in respect to ‘serious registrable offenders’, or use other search powers available if they had reasonable cause to suspect an offence had been committed or there was evidence of an offence.

Under the previous rules, police could also only search electronic devices in the offender’s residential premises, meaning they couldn’t search a mobile device used out of the offender’s home. These changes will mean police can now use their search powers on all registrable offenders in any location.

By extending these powers to all registrable offenders, South Australia Police will be able to ensure all registered child sex offenders are not communicating with children or viewing child exploitation material.

These reforms are the latest in a series of measures from the Government to crack down on child sex offenders.

This includes increasing penalties, slashing sentencing discounts and banning child sex offenders from working alongside underage employees.