A new Centre to lead Australia’s fight against the exploitation of children nationally and around the world has been officially opened in Brisbane.
The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) will be led by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) with oversite from the Coordinator of Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime (TSOC), Deputy Commissioner Karl Kent.
It will also use the expertise of State police, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Border Force and AUSTRAC.
Launching the ACCCE, Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton said it would bring together specialist expertise and skills from across the Home Affairs portfolio into a centralised hub to provide a consistent, holistic and cohesive response to exploitation and abuse.
“It will also link closely with the Joint Anti Child Exploitation Teams across Australia, international law enforcement Agencies and the Office of the e-Safety Commissioner,” Mr Dutton said.
He said the Centre was based on four pillars which were to use joint resources to prevent the exploitation of children; to prepare future capabilities and technologies to combat exploitation; to better support authorities to prosecute perpetrators; and to protect victims from further victimisation.
Mr Dutton said technological advances were greatly increasing the challenges for law enforcement.
“The continuing evolution of technology has only made it easier for perpetrators to contact children and share their abuse and torture through global networks,” he said.
“In today’s world any child can be targeted in their own home by an organised network of paedophiles.
“It is no longer enough for Agencies to combat these offences in isolation.”
