Man accused of revealing sex offender details gets bail

The first man accused of misusing a key public sex offender registry has been granted bail.

Brian Allan Smith appeared in Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday after being charged with accessing the Queensland registry and passing on information about a sex offender.

The 47-year-old was charged after Queensland created Australia’s first public child sex offender registry under legislation honoring kidnapped teenager Daniel Morcombe.

The child protection register is available online from 31 December 2025, providing access to photos and locations of sex offenders.

The Queensland government website freely lists all sex offenders whose current location is unknown to police.

Anyone wanting details of sex offenders in their area must submit an application containing their own ID and address.

People can also apply to check whether a particular adult spending time alone with a child is a reportable sex offender in Queensland.

Smith was accused of “publishing personally identifiable information” after accessing the records.

Court documents obtained by AAP said the offense took place in Lowood, east of Brisbane, on January 1 – the day after the sex offender site went live.

It is an offense in Queensland for a person to view, distribute or publish any identifying information on the sex offenders register without consent.

Anyone found guilty of the crime faces a maximum prison sentence of three years.

Lawyer Amanda Rossow told Judge Robert Walker on Wednesday that Smith’s charge could be a matter of Commonwealth law.

“This is a state charge under child protection offender reporting restraining order,” Mr. Walker said.

He adjourned the case until February 4 and granted bail to Smith, who stood at the bar table in court wearing a dark short-sleeved shirt and white trousers.

Smith said “no comment” as he left the courthouse Wednesday after his case was briefly stated.

The sex offender website was created under Daniel’s law and is named after 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe, who was abducted and murdered by a serial child sex offender on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in December 2003.

Daniel’s law website states that it provides applicants with detailed information about “reportable offenders who have a history of repeated sexual offenses against children or who are considered to pose a high risk to children in your residential area.”