Today, at the first meeting of the Standing Council of Attorneys-General (SCAG) of the 48th Parliament, Attorneys-General from across Australia agreed to drive decisive action to deliver a national approach and address systemic gaps in Working with Children Checks (WWCCs) to improve the safety of children across Australia.
Attorneys-General today agreed to urgently work towards implementing mutual national recognition of negative WWCC decisions (including negative notices, suspensions and interim bars) by the end of 2025.
This means a person rejected for a WWCC in one jurisdiction will be rejected in other jurisdictions - banned in one, banned in all. The Commonwealth will continue to work with remaining jurisdictions to integrate into the system that allows for the sharing of these decisions.
The Commonwealth has also committed to progressing National Continuous Checking Capability, to provide continuous, near-real time monitoring of national changes to criminal history information of WWCC holders, building on the pilot underway by the Australian Criminal Intellgence Commission.
To support this, Attorneys-General agreed to scope costs and systems changes for consideration by SCAG before the end of the year.
In addition to closing loopholes, Attorneys-General agreed to improve national consistency and strengthen the quality of WWCC assessment frameworks. This means better checks and increased safeguards for children.
Collectively, these measures will deliver significant improvements to WWCC systems and establish concrete milestones to progress the establishment of a broader real-time information sharing capability and a national approach for mutual recognition.
Attorneys-General noted WWCC reform was one part of a significant volume of work already underway to improve child safety outcomes.
This includes work under the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse, which considers child sexual abuse in all settings, including within families, online and within organisations.
Over the longer term, this work will also contribute to strengthening worker screening across the care and support economy, further enhancing safety for vulnerable Australians and improving workforce productivity.
In close collaboration with work led by the Standing Council of Attorneys-General, Education Minister Jason Clare will convene a special purpose meeting on 22 August 2025 to consider options to enhance safety outcomes for children in the early childhood education and care sector.
Quotes attributable to the Attorney-General, Hon Michelle Rowland MP:
"Today, all governments agreed to strengthen Working with Children Checks and child safety nationally.
"Child safety is a key priority for the Albanese Government. Today we have made significant progress in pursuit of a safer environment for children and young people and a stronger Working with Children Checks regime.
"The Commonwealth is taking a leadership role, working with states and territories to close gaps in the regulation of Working with Children Checks, and I thank all jurisdictions and my fellow Attorneys-General for their commitment to this important work.
"There are too many horrific cases of child sexual abuse. The seminal Australian Childhood Maltreatment Study highlighted that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys experience child sexual abuse in Australia. We must not lose sight of the ongoing need to strengthen child safety in Australia.
"Together, all governments are working to ensure that protecting vulnerable Australians, particularly our children and young people, remains central to our reform efforts.
"I look forward to continuing to work with my state and territory counterparts as we consider further ways to keep our children and young people safe, including by implementing the ambitious reforms agreed to today."
