Regulatory Impact Statement: Amendments to the Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Act 2016

This Regulatory Impact Statement was prepared by the New Zealand Police, signed on 25 October 2022, and considered by Cabinet on 16 November 2022.

It assessed proposed amendments to the Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Act 2016 (the Act), which were identified following a three-year evaluation of the Child Sex Offender Register (the Register) and through operational insights. The amendments seek to refine the legislation to better support the operation of the Register and Risk Management Framework (RMF).

The RIS analyses options relating to:

• Additional information to be reported by registered offenders (for example, attendance at education, training and/or voluntary work)
• Wording in the Act to be updated (for example, replace the existing words ‘routing or modem device’ with the words ‘any devices capable of accessing the internet’)
• The addition of seven qualifying offences to be added to Schedule 2 of the Act (for example, section 216H of the Crimes Act 1961 - making of intimate visual recordings -  where the victim is under 16 years of age).