A NSW parliamentary committee will investigate whether mandatory minimum sentences or hormone therapy should be introduced to deal with child sex offenders.
The select committee announced by the government would examine the effectiveness of current sentencing options and consider alternatives like mandatory minimum sentencing and anti-androgenic medication.
"The community is sickened by acts of child sexual assault and we must make sure we're doing everything possible to protect children from these offenders," NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said in a statement.
"Confidence in the justice system is undermined when sentences for child sex offenders appear out of step with community expectations."
The seven-person committee will ask for public and expert submissions on whether greater sentencing consistency and improved public confidence in the judicial system could be achieved through alternative sentencing options.
It comes weeks after the Director of Public Prosecutions said it would not appeal the non-custodial sentence handed down to a man who repeatedly raped his daughter over a number of years.
The man was referred to Cedar Cottage, a residential treatment centre in western Sydney, and given a three-year good behaviour bond.
In an extraordinary move, Attorney-General Greg Smith instructed the Crown Solicitor to lodge an appeal in that case.
He had already ordered an overhaul of standard non-parole periods for crimes including child rape.
"The community rightly expects child sex offenders to receive harsh punishments for their heinous crimes," Mr O'Farrell said.
"That's one of the reasons this government closed down the Cedar Cottage program, which allowed certain child sex offenders to be given a non-custodial sentence for their crimes."
