List of recommendations

Recommendation 1

7.30The committee recommends that the Australian Government regularly monitor whether the criminal offence framework adequately covers predatory conduct in relation to child abuse material and child exploitation, and, if inadequacies are identified, prioritise legislation to remedy them.

Recommendation 2

7.38The committee recommends that the Australian Government ensure that data is recorded that reflects the total effective sentence handed down to child sex offenders, and continually monitor the appropriateness of these sentences.

Recommendation 3

7.43The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider permitting the submission of community impact statements to a court, including the following statements supported by the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation:

statements from victim-survivors depicted in material found in the offender's possession, including where the offender is not responsible for producing, procuring or soliciting that material directly from the victim; and

community impact statements (also known as group impact statements) on behalf of victim-survivors depicted in child abuse material available online, none of whom are necessarily depicted in the material in the offender's possession.

Recommendation 4

7.57The committee recommends that the Australian Government ensure that an appropriate ministerial council regularly considers coordination and legislative challenges facing Commonwealth, state and territory law enforcement in relation to child exploitation.

Recommendation 5

7.63The committee recommends that the Australian Government prioritise and pursue efforts, in collaboration with state and territory governments, to:

enable the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre to access the National Child Offender System; and

enable the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre to access the National Police Reference System.

Recommendation 6

7.71The committee recommends that the Australian Federal Police and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions:

adopt, as far as is practicable, procedures and technologies that minimise exposure to child abuse material while still ensuring that investigations are properly conducted and courts are properly informed about the severity of offending; and

work with state and territory authorities to share best practice and improve the use of such procedures and technologies in all Australian jurisdictions.

Recommendation 7

7.74Recognising the extreme nature of the content associated with child exploitation investigations, the committee recommends that the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation prioritise efforts to share best practice with Joint Anti Child Exploitation Teams and other law enforcement agencies regarding:

support for officers' health and wellbeing; and

training to ensure that officers are well-equipped to perform their duties.

Recommendation 8

7.97The committee recommends that the eSafety Commissioner apply pressure to technology companies to ensure that they apply robust procedures and technologies to detect child abuse material and report it to law enforcement, regardless of whether end‑to‑end encryption is used.

Recommendation 9

7.98The committee recommends that the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation or, if necessary, another appropriate law enforcement body:

monitor the number and quality of reports of child abuse material being made by technology companies in order to identify any deficiencies in detection processes, particularly where end‑to‑end encryption may be associated with the deficiencies; and

if deficiencies are identified, liaise with the eSafety Commissioner about improving the detection processes applied by technology companies.

Recommendation 10

7.105The committee recommends that the Australian Government and eSafety Commissioner, as part of their work on the Roadmap for age verification and complementary measures to prevent and mitigate harms to children from online pornography and industry codes for class 2 material, respectively, consider options for age assurance or age verification of children using social media, online games or other online platforms to ensure that age based protections are effective.

Recommendation 11

7.117The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider options for requiring major technology companies operating in Australia to have an appropriate number of trust and safety staff based in Australia.

Recommendation 12

7.129The committee recommends that the Australian Government commission further research into the links between contact and non-contact child sex offending to better inform how law enforcement and other agencies detect, investigate, and prevent this crime.

Recommendation 13

7.136To inform the implementation of prevention services that target adults who have sexual thoughts about children, the committee recommends that Australian Government commission research into strategies for ensuring such services are targeted and effective.

Recommendation 14

7.142Notwithstanding the current 'One Talk at a Time' public information campaign, the committee recommends that the Australian Government implement ongoing efforts to increase public awareness of the risks of child exploitation, particularly among parents, including how to reduce and respond to these risks.

Recommendation 15

7.151The committee recommends that the Australian Government, as part of its planned reforms of the Classification Scheme and in consultation with the eSafety Commissioner, consider options for the Classification Scheme to better convey the risks of computer games that allow interaction with other players or the uploading of user-generated content.