Australia to close loophole in screening system for childcare workers
The proposed changes to Australia's working with children checks come almost a decade after a landmark royal commission into child sex abuse recommended the system be nationalised.Currently, each state and territory complete what is essentially a criminal history check required for those who work alongside children, but they don't share the information with each other. Some jurisdictions also consider allegations of workplace misconduct.Rowland said there are no plans to nationalise the checks as states and territories will continue to manage their own systems, but that there will be more information sharing under a national "checking capability"."If you're banned from a working with children check in one state and territory, it means that you can't then go and apply for one somewhere else in Australia," she said.
Rowland chaired a meeting of attorneys-general from across the country on Friday, and said representatives from all states and territories had committed to "pull out all stops" to enable stronger, "near real time" information sharing.Rowland blamed complex IT systems in different jurisdictions - as well as failings by successive governments - on the years-long delay for such a move.The federal government also announced on Friday that 30 childcare centres have been told they must lift their standards or risk losing their government funding, under new laws introduced last month.In recent months a series of high-profile cases of alleged sexual and physical abuse have been reported at childcare centres across Australia.Last month, police revealed a Melbourne childcare worker, Joshua Dale Brown, had been arrested and charged with 70 offences - including child rape - against eight babies. The case also prompted authorities to recommend infectious diseases testing, as a precaution, for 2,000 children from more than two dozen locations where Mr Brown had worked.
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