A name and shame register for convicted paedophiles is now one step closer to becoming a reality.

The Coalition suggested a publicly available sex offenders register before the federal election, and since their shock win over Labor, the idea is now on track to becoming a usable system for concerned Australians.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton first floated the idea in January, and the Government allocated $7.8 million to the project in April’s federal Budget.

The money will now go towards the establishment of a “name and shame” list, more formally known as a National Public Register of Child Sex Offenders. The Government wants to “provide a nationally consistent approach to the public release of information about child sex offenders”.

The Government vowed in April to provide Australias with the ability to look up details of thousands of convicted paedophiles, including their names, aliases, a photograph, as well as their date of birth, a physical description and the “general location and nature” of their crimes.

“Protection of our most vulnerable — our children — remains one of the highest priorities of the Morrison Government,” Mr Dutton said in a statement earlier in the year.

“It will send a clear message that Australia will not tolerate individuals preying on the most vulnerable members of the community — our children,” he said after the release of the budget funding allocation on April 3.

Mr Dutton first announced a proposal for the National Public Register of Child Sex Offenders in January, saying it would be based on the US model rolled out in the 1990s.

However, our public register won’t provide the exact address of convicted offenders. It would, however, include the suburb they lived in.

The public database will be managed by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, and information will be gathered by state police agencies.

The register has not been universally welcomed, with some advocates criticising Mr Dutton’s idea at the time of the Government’s announcement.

Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses said a mandatory child sex offender registry could pose certain problems, including the possibility of members of society feeling compelled to become vigilantes.

“Inclusion brings onerous reporting obligations like ongoing police monitoring of and involvement in a person’s activities, the risk of adverse community attention and vigilantism,” he said.

“Sentencing courts should be granted a discretion to take into account the individual circumstances of the offence and offender in determining whether an eligible person should be required to register and report.”

Bravehearts founder and executive director Hetty Johnston said in January there was only one place for sex offenders.

“The bottom line is that all dangerous and repeat sex offenders should not be on a register, they should be in jail,” she said.

“No offender should be released until the risk they pose is of a level that can be managed in the community.

“A register will not keep children safe.”