Thursday, 14 August 2025

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Early childhood education and care

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:04): My question is to the Minister for Government Services. Yesterday the Premier said of a man who was sacked in 2020 after an investigation found he was grooming and kissing toddlers that ‘immediate steps have been taken to cancel his working with children check’. Why does this man still have a working with children check now?

Natalie HUTCHINS (Sydenham – Minister for Government Services, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Minister for Women) (14:04): Thank you for the question. Of course this side of the house continues its good work under the leadership of the Premier to protect the safety of our children and their wellbeing across our education system and across our childcare system. That is why we moved in April to make changes –

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, in relation to relevance, in what world is it good work when a person continues to have a working with children check five years after they have been investigated for grooming children in childcare centres in Victoria?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition knows how to raise a point of order. The member for Mordialloc is warned. The minister to come back to the question.

Natalie HUTCHINS: We look forward to that review handing down the results in the near future, and that is why we commissioned the urgent review, in order to overview –

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this is very narrow, relating to why an individual retains a working with children check. I would ask you to ask the minister to come back to that narrow question.

The SPEAKER: The minister still has 2 minutes and 22 seconds to answer the question. I ask the minister to come back to the question.

Natalie HUTCHINS: As the Premier indicated in her answers yesterday and has alluded to the fact that a process has begun around that individual in particular from –

Sam Groth: On a point of order, Speaker, standing order 58 requires the minister to be direct and succinct in her answer. Given the fact that the question was only 11 words long, I would say that the minister has not been direct or succinct so far in her answer, considering how short the question was.

The SPEAKER: The minister will come back to the question.

Natalie HUTCHINS: We have strengthened the regulations to ensure that there is more transparency across the system, and we are taking action in regard to this individual. The safety of children is our absolute number one priority.

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:07): Can the minister confirm this man can still work with children in junior sports teams, Scouts, schools, foster care, kinship care and play facilities, amongst many other places, with unsupervised children?

Natalie HUTCHINS (Sydenham – Minister for Government Services, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Minister for Women) (14:08): Thank you for the question. There is an act that oversees the worker-screening process and the unit that processes I think it is probably thousands of applications per year for either new working with children checks or renewals. The Worker Screening Act sets out criteria for people who are required to have a working with children check and –

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is obviously debating the answer by clearly trying to outline that it seems to be okay that this person has a working with children check in Victoria based on the act, rather than acting and cancelling it, like was promised this week.

The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, points of order are to be raised correctly. The minister was answering the question.

Natalie HUTCHINS: In regard to who needs a working with children check in what environment ‍– there were a number of environments listed by the Leader of the Opposition just then – if it is about a childcare centre –

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister continues to debate the question. How long does it take to cancel a working with children check for someone?

The SPEAKER: The Manager of Opposition Business will resume her seat. Points of order are to be raised correctly. The minister was answering the question.

Natalie HUTCHINS: In regard to the individual that has been alluded to in this question, there is a process underway and I am not going to supersede that.