Latest news with #WorkingwithChildrenCheck
7NEWS
03-07-2025
- 7NEWS
Outrage as Working with Children Check only takes 30 minutes and requires a simple online form
It has been revealed that the Working with Children Check (WWCC) is only a 30-minute online form for anyone without a criminal record. A major spotlight has this week been put on child safety tools after a man was charged with 70 offences at a Melbourne childcare centre. Childcare worker Joshua Brown, 26, has been charged in relation to eight victims who attended a Point Cook childcare centre between April 2022 and January 2023. A Working with Children Check usually handles state-by-state but involves a national police check and a review of reportable workplace misconduct. Previously, the check has been a key safety tool used to ensure kids are being kept safe. The Herald Sun compared the online form with Victoria's Responsible Service of Alcohol course, which requires up to 10 hours of training in order to become certified. A number of childhood sexual abuse advocates, including Australian Childhood Foundation survivor Emma Hakansson, 25, said it was 'laughable' that governments considered the current checks acceptable. 'The adult who sexually abused me also had a WWCC,' she said in a report in the publication. 'The WWCC could be a tool to arm safe adults with training to keep children safe, and it's absurd we trust adults with children without any training, while training is required to serve alcohol, even to handle food.' On Friday, journalists Luke Bona and Susie O'Brien joined Nat Barr on Sunrise to discuss the relative ease in meeting the Working with Children Check requirement. Both called for tougher regulations. 'The story that has sparked all this is the most horrific thing,' Bona said. 'Remember, everybody is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but the spotlight is certainly on the safety and welfare of our children. 'The safety of our children is the most important thing we can offer, and we must provide. 'So, I take my hat off to Hetty Johnson from Bravehearts who's going to form her own course. 'But it's got to be mandatory, because the message is, we've got to keep kids safe at all costs.' This week, journalist Susie O'Brien reported that educators facing serious allegations can still work in childcare centres for up to two years due to regulatory issues. They are often allowed to work during the investigation. 'The comparison between the RSA and the Working with Children Check is really interesting, because you can be fined $10,000 for serving someone drunk,' O'Brien began. 'You probably lose your job, find it hard to get another job. 'But you can be a childcare worker who molests a toddler. 'Yes, you will lose your job, but you can continue working in other centres for up to two years, while they and decide if you're guilty or not, particularly in this state, but other states as well. 'It can take up to two years for a predator to be removed from childcare centres, and that is a massive problem.'
West Australian
02-07-2025
- West Australian
Port Kennedy man fined over lying on working with children's check application
A Port Kennedy man has been fined for lying on a working with children check application, claiming to be employed by a sporting organisation. The 42-year-old was fined $800 and given a spent conviction after pleading guilty to knowingly providing false and misleading information. The man submitted an application in September 2023 while unemployed, but stated he was working in child-related work as a Willetton Basketball Association coach. He falsely signed a part of the application on behalf of his employer, but had never been offered a job by the Association. The breach was uncovered after an investigation by Communities' working with children screening unit. Only applicants engaged in child-related work are eligible to apply for the mandatory clearance. Communities regulation and quality executive director Angelo Barbaro said the Working with Children Check was an important strategy in reducing risk of harm to children. 'Providing false information in connection with a Working with Children Check, be it to the employer or the Department, will be taken extremely seriously and prosecution action is taken where warranted,' he said. 'This Court action serves as a reminder to anyone who is engaged in child-related work to ensure they hold a valid Working with Children Card, and organisations must ensure due diligence when engaging a person in child-related work.'
Perth Now
02-07-2025
- Perth Now
‘Angry': Minister's link to childcare charges
Education Minister Jason Clare has revealed a close friend of his has been impacted by Tuesday's revelation of the alleged sexual abuse of children at Victorian childcare centres by a worker. 'I know that they're angry because one of those parents is a friend of mine and her two little girls are directly affected by this,' Mr Clare said on Wednesday. 'And I won't tell you what she told me last night because you can't repeat it on television, but she's right to be mad. 'I'm mad. I think anyone who works in the early education system, and there's hundreds of thousands of fantastic people who do, would be angry today as well. 'And my friend is mad because of all of the stress and the trauma and the crap that she and her girls are going to have to go through in the weeks ahead.' Yesterday, Victorian Police revealed they had charged the 26-year-old childcare worker Joshua Brown with 70 charges after he allegedly abused eight children at a Point Cook childcare centre in Melbourne. Education Minister Jason Clare has promised urgent reform to the child safety following Tuesday's revelation of alleged abuse at Victorian childcare centres. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Police allege the children were aged between five months and two years. A widespread investigation has now been launched, with Victoria's chief health officer saying 1200 children have been recommended to undergo infectious diseases testing. Mr Clare said the problem of predators in childcare settings was 'serious' and required 'serious action'. 'It's one of the reasons why I put this on the top of the agenda when education ministers met last week,' he said. 'Let me be clear – when education ministers met to discuss child safety last week, we didn't discuss this case, but we discussed – what are the next steps that we need to take as a nation to make sure that our kids are safe in early education and care?' The government has already banned personal mobile phones in centres and changed rules around mandatory reporting from seven days to 24 hours following complaints about sexual or physical abuse. The police allege childcare worker Joshua Brown sexually abused multiple children. Picture Supplied. Credit: Supplied Mr Clare promised further reforms, including cutting off funding for centres that fail to meet minimum standards. He also flagged changes to background checks for workers. 'It's taken too long to do the work necessary to make sure that our Working with Children Check system is up to scratch,' he said. 'I've spoken a number of times with the Attorney-General, Michelle Rowland, the new Attorney-General, and I think I can safely speak on her behalf – she agrees, and is determined to take the action necessary here to make sure that our Working with Children Checks across the nation are up to scratch. 'That'll be something that will be discussed by attorneys-general when they meet next month.' He cautioned that a working with children check was not a 'silver bullet'. 'In too many examples, a perpetrator is eventually caught and arrested and sentenced, there's somebody that got a Working with Children Check because they had no prior criminal record,' he said. 'And so it's only one of the things that we need to focus on here if we're serious about making sure that we keep our kids safe.' More to come .
