NSW Government Tightens Working With Children Checks

The New South Wales government is enacting laws which aim to prevent individuals who are seen as posing a risk to the safety of children from working in child-related employment.

The enabling law – known as the Child Protection (Working with Children) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 (NSW) (‘the Child Protection Bill’) – amends seven existing pieces of legislation with a view to, among other things, making it more difficult for applicants to pass Working With Children Checks (WWCCs), prohibiting certain people from appealing refusals to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the NCAT), enhancing monitoring practices, introducing a national register which prevents applicants who do not pass checks to apply in other jurisdictions and prescribing harsher sanctions including higher fines for service providers – such as childcare centres – who break regulatory requirements.

The Child Protection Bill

The Bill seeks to introduce major changes to the following pieces of legislation:

• • Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012
  • Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010
  • Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013
  • National Disability Insurance Scheme (Worker Checks) Act 2018

It also seeks to make minor change to:

• • Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000
  • Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Amendment Act 2024
  • Criminal Procedure Act 1986

Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012

Key changes to the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 include:

• Clarification of WWCC Requirements
  Employers, regulators, or professional bodies may require a Working With Children Check (WWCC) clearance before someone begins child-related work or gains membership/licensing.
• Disqualification Reassessment Mechanism
  The Children’s Guardian can now grant a WWCC clearance to a previously “disqualified person” if, following a disqualification reassessment, it’s determined they may no longer pose a risk.
• In-House Review Processes

1. • The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal will no longer handle review functions under this Act. Instead, the Children’s Guardian will conduct internal reviews and reassessment.
   • These include applications for internal review of WWCC refusals, cancellations, or interim bars, and applications for disqualification reassessments.

4. Administrative Enhancements

1. • The Guardian can request information during reviews/reassessments and maintain a database of such proceedings.
   • The appointment of an expert advisory panel to assist with certain individual cases is now enabled.
   • Transitional provisions accommodate matters already before the Tribunal at commencement.

Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010

Key changes to the Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010 include:

• Specificity regarding who can remain on educational premises while children are cared for.
• Individuals who have only applied for (but not received) a WWCC clearance cannot remain unsupervised on such premises
• Also removes the right to external appeal against decisions to issue or cancel prohibition notices under the National Law.

Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013

The key change to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 is the removal of references to both the Working with Children Act and the NDIS Worker Checks Act, as Tribunal no longer handles related reviews.

NDIS (Worker Checks) Act 2018

The key changes to the NDIS (Worker Checks) Act 2018 are:

The copying of Schedule 1 for NDIS worker checks which:

• Ends Tribunal’s review jurisdiction.
• Introduces internal reviews by the Screening Agency, allowing applicants to challenge decisions on clearance, cancellation, suspensions, or bars.
• Adds measures to protect criminal intelligence information from disclosure, including closed proceedings if necessary.
• Introduces transitional provisions similar to Schedule 1.

Other Legislation

Amendments are also proposed to:

1. Offenders Registration Act (2000 & 2024 Amendments)
   • Tightens notice requirements for registrable person orders and child protection registration orders.

2. Criminal Procedure Act 1986

1. • Allows offences under section 19J (online gaming restrictions for offenders) to be triable summarily unless opted into indictment by the prosecutor.

At a glance

State and Territory collaboration

The policy known as “Banned in One, Banned in All” was agreed upon by all Australian states and territories, and seeks to ensure that individuals who are prohibited from from working with children in one jurisdiction are automatically banned across nation. 

According to the NSW government, this will plug a loophole that has until now allowed individuals to “shop around” between jurisdictions.

A”national continuous checking capability” is also being developed by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), which seeks to facilitate near real-time sharing of criminal history updates. A pilot program for this initiatiative is set to conclude by the end of this year, in addition to an accelerated timeline for many of the reforms. 

But despite recommendations for a national regime, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland confirmed there will be no single national WWCC scheme. Instead, the focus is on state-run systems collaborating. 

The reforms come in the wake of a Melbourne childcare worker being found to have a valid WWCC despite being charged with over 70 offences.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the existing system as “hopeless” and emphasised the need for reform, which has been echoed by the Opposition and Greens, insisting a national system is absolutely necessary. 

At a Glance: Reform Summary

There is broad political consensus that the reforms will reduce the likelihood of child abuse including child sex offences, as well as lead to greater transparency and accountability by businesses and government departments and agencies that provided services to children.