WA’s Anti‑Consorting Law Under Review After Loophole Lets Child Sex Offenders Associate Freely

Western Australia’s flagship anti‑consorting law introduced in 2021 to crack down on bikie gangs is now under review after it emerged that the legislation has unintentionally prevented police from stopping convicted child sex offenders from associating with each other.

The law, promoted at the time as “the toughest anti‑consorting regime in the country,” was designed primarily to disrupt outlaw motorcycle gangs by banning them from communicating.
But a lesser‑known provision has had the opposite effect for another high‑risk group.

Shadow attorney general Nick Goiran said the loophole has allowed child sex offenders to “consort freely” without police intervention.
“The impact is that these child sex offenders are able to associate amongst one another,” he said.

Government Reviewing the Law
The WA government maintains that other legislation provides “more effective protections for children,” but confirmed that the Department of Justice is now reviewing the anti‑consorting laws.

What Changed Under the New Law
Under the previous system, police could issue a warning to a child sex offender if they were associating with another offender and continued contact could lead to fines or imprisonment.

The new laws, however, raise the threshold for police action. Officers can now only intervene if:

the offenders are already interacting or likely to interact, and

a police officer deems it necessary to “disrupt or restrict the capacity” of the offenders to commit a serious offence.

This higher bar has made it significantly harder for police to issue notices or prevent contact.

Push for Reform
Goiran has introduced a bill in state parliament to lower the threshold and restore police powers. The government’s review will determine whether amendments are needed to close the loophole.