REFORM OF WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECKS
10 March 2010
Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor today welcomed the passage of the Crimes Amendment (Working With Children - Criminal History) Bill 2009.
“These reforms are a crucial part of the Government’s strategy to help protect children from sexual, physical and emotional harm,” Mr O’Connor said.
“As some of the most vulnerable members of our society, children deserve our utmost efforts to ensure their safety and wellbeing.”
“This Bill will amend the Crimes Act to expand the range of criminal history information that can be exchanged between jurisdictions for the purpose of assessing the suitability of persons to work with children,” the Minister said.
“These amendments will allow authorised screening units to receive a greater range of Commonwealth criminal history information in order to assess the risk a person poses in working with children.”
The use and disclosure of the information will only be for this limited purpose, and will be subject to strict safeguards.
Screening units will be required to comply with applicable privacy, human rights and records management legislation and to reflect the principles of natural justice in their screening processes.
These amendments implement a November 2008 agreement by the Council of Australian Governments.
Reviews of the Bill will be conducted in 2011 and 2013.
Media Contact: Brian Humphreys 0438 595 567
