Working with children checks
David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:27): My question is to the Minister for Children. I refer to the new administrative orders implemented by the Premier yesterday in which she shifts responsibility with respect to the Worker Screening Act 2020 to you, Minister, as Minister for Children to be jointly and severally responsible. I therefore ask: now that you are responsible for this act and responsible for the safety of children, will you tell the house when the loophole that enables overseas workers with criminal convictions to work with children will be closed?
Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:27): I thank Mr Davis for his question. It was actually a week ago that the Premier signed the change to the general orders that gave me the responsibility for the working with children check. But it is a responsibility that I indeed asked for, Mr Davis, because, as many in this house have attested to on all sides of the chamber, I am absolutely committed to ensuring that we do everything that we can to protect our children.
In relation to the question around international checks, I have this week spoken with the office of the Minister for Home Affairs, and I have also asked both relevant departments, including the new working with children check responsibilities but also the Department of Education and those responsible for child protection, as to how these international checks are currently undertaken. The advice I have from all of those, including the office of the Minister for Home Affairs, is that our international police checks in relation to the granting of visas when international workers come in in order to work with children do, firstly, an international police check for the 12 months previous that that person may have been in another jurisdiction. That said, I have also spoken to the Commonwealth and they completely agree, and Minister Burke and his office I know are very committed to ensuring that we work together to ensure that the policy work that has happened in that space has well and truly kept pace with the evolving nature of those workforces, the evolving nature of technology and a range of other things that I think need to be worked on, so absolutely we agree there is more to do, and we are working on it.
David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:29): The minister would not answer the question, the simple question of when the loophole will be closed. Minister, I note it is National Child Protection Week, and I note that you have a duty of care under the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005, particularly clause 6 but also your new direct responsibility for working with children checks, and I ask: when will you implement all of the recommendations of the Glass inquiry and the rapid review?
Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:29): There are a number of questions in that supplementary question. But firstly, as Mr Davis has acknowledged that it is child protection week, and indeed I spoke to you yesterday, that is absolutely the case. I thank those who work in our child protection system on the front line. I can advise the house that in relation to those who work in child protection and international recruitment, when it comes to the provision of statutory child protection, in addition to the safety screening undertaken by the Department of Home Affairs, for DFFH child protection staff, international police checks are required for applicants who have lived in an overseas country for 12 months or longer in the past 10 years, and I am further advised that this is the case for all offshore recruits to child protection. Every recruit under this program has received this check. So I make that in answer to one of your supplementary questions. In relation to the other supplementary question, as the Premier and I and previously the Attorney-General have explained at large, the bills that we will be pleased to present to the Parliament later this year will acquit the rest of the recommendations of the Ombudsman’s report.