Sydney, Dec 13 (IANS): A new legislation adopted to prevent thousands of paedophiles registered in the country from travelling overseas with the possibility of abusing minors came into effect in Australia on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Justice Minister Michael Keenan said in a joint statement that "it is now a federal crime" for registered child molesters to leave Australia without law enforcement agencies' permission, Efe news reported.

"Almost 800 registered child sex offenders travelled overseas last year and about 40 per cent did so without informing authorities of their travel. This will now stop," the ministers said.

The new regulation allows passports of paedophiles to be cancelled at the request of state or territory authorities.

Australia has 20,000 registered child sex offenders who are obligated to inform police of their travel plans.

One of them was Australian Giuseppe Nicolosi, who died on Sunday in Cambodia of a chronic illness while serving an eight-year prison sentence for raping a five-year-old girl there in 2010.

During the 1990s, Cambodia became a destination for paedophiles who allegedly obtained immunity through bribes, although the situation reportedly changed in 2007 with authorities enforcing stricter controls.