The Minns Labor Government will next week introduce legislation into Parliament to strengthen Working with Children Checks (WWCC) to better protect children from harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reforms will ensure that only the independent child safety regulator \u2013 the Office of the Children\u2019s Guardian \u2013 will be responsible for reviewing WWCC decisions, removing external appeal pathways through the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, even people with serious convictions \u2013 including for sexual assault \u2013 can appeal a WWCC refusal to NCAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In some cases, this has resulted in the granting of \u2018enabling orders\u2019 that allow individuals previously deemed ineligible or disqualified to work with children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under these new laws, the Office of the Children\u2019s Guardian will become the sole decision-maker and reviewer of WWCC applications, ensuring that child safety remains in the hands of the specialist regulator best equipped to assess risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These changes will also move NDIS Worker Checks appeals to the OCG, who issue NDIS Worker Checks and have expertise in safety for people with disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To strengthen protections nationally, the NSW Government will also lead calls at National Cabinet for a searchable national register of WWCC holders, so parents can be confident that individuals working with children have been properly cleared \u2013 no matter which state or territory they\u2019ve previously worked in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NSW will work with the Commonwealth and other jurisdictions to integrate WWCC systems and close information gaps that offenders may exploit by moving interstate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This legislation builds on the Minns Labor Government\u2019s broader reform agenda to improve child safety in early education and care, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Premier Chris Minns said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeeping children safe \u2014 whether they\u2019re in a classroom, an early learning centre or the care of adults in any setting must be a national priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese reforms send a clear message that the safety of children comes first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “NSW is pressing ahead with reforms we announced in June. Our Government is prepared to lead the way when it comes to reforming the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Liberals and Nationals took a back seat on regulation, allowing for-profit providers to grow to two-thirds of the sector without proper oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReforming early childhood education and care regulation across the country is a matter of urgency and I will be meeting with Education Ministers in the coming weeks to push for progress on these reforms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Families and Communities, and Disability Inclusion, Kate Washington said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re strengthening the system so it works as intended \u2013 to keep children safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur message to convicted sex offenders is clear. Don\u2019t bother applying for a Working with Children Check, because you won\u2019t be getting one.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Minns Labor Government will next week introduce legislation into Parliament to strengthen Working with Children Checks (WWCC) to better protect children from harm. The reforms will ensure that only the independent child safety regulator \u2013 the Office of the Children\u2019s Guardian \u2013 will be responsible for reviewing WWCC decisions, removing external appeal pathways through … Continue reading “Working With Children Check reforms keep kids safe”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34015"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34016,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34015\/revisions\/34016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}