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AAP
AAP
Politics
Phoebe Loomes

NSW sex offender issues left to fester

Mark Speakman: the police and courts are working on issues with the child sex offender register. (AAP)

No changes are imminent for the NSW child sex offender register, despite an independent recommendation for reform after numerous errors were detected.

Attorney-General Mark Speakman has told a budget estimates hearing the state's police and courts are working on the issues with the register.

Some 44 per cent of cases on the child protection register contained "significant" errors, a report from the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission found in 2019.

This led to sex offenders living unmonitored in the community, others being wrongly jailed and police entering people's homes in error.

Some 96 people were left off the register after offending, including a man convicted in 2008 who was not put on the register until 2016.

Labor committee member Shaoquett Moselmane asked why the "serious situation" had been allowed "to fester unresolved".

"The report clearly indicates there is serious risk to children as a result of falling to resolve this issue," Mr Moselmane said.

Mr Speakman said the recommendation to refer the register to the Law Reform Commission was made to him but he would not take it up at this time.

He did not rule out a referral at some stage.

He hopes for an "expeditious and appropriate outcome" and has made dealing with child sex abuse one of his priorities as attorney-general.

"Which is why we have implemented the overwhelming majority of recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse," he said on Wednesday.

"We've been extremely active in this area."

"This niche sits with the police minister - my narrow remit sits with whether to refer it to the Law Reform Commission.

"I'm not going to do that because there's a pretty good prospect the police, courts and others will come up with a solution that addresses the significant concerns you have highlighted."

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