In a major move to safeguard Australia's children, the Albanese government is committing $37 million to establish a national real-time monitoring system for the childcare workforce. This initiative aims to prevent individuals with serious criminal histories from working with children across state and territory lines.
Closing the Loopholes in Child Safety
The funding announcement comes after several alarming incidents of alleged child abuse within early learning centres. The new system, called the National Continuous Checking Capability, will provide near real-time monitoring of criminal history changes for anyone holding a Working with Children Check (WWCC).
Attorney General Michelle Rowland will present the funding proposal to state and territory attorneys general during a meeting in Brisbane on Friday. The Commonwealth aims to have the system fully operational by the end of 2025.
How the National Checking System Will Work
The core function of this new capability is to create instant communication between all Australian jurisdictions. If a person's criminal history information changes in one state or territory, all other jurisdictions will be immediately notified.
This effectively means that someone rejected for a Working with Children Check in one part of Australia will be automatically barred from working with children anywhere in the country. The principle is simple: banned in one state, banned in all states.
The $37 million in funding will support the system for five years, covering both development and initial operation phases. This action implements a key recommendation from a royal commission that called for such a system more than a decade ago.
Government's Commitment to Child Protection
Attorney General Michelle Rowland emphasized the government's dedication to this issue, stating that child safety remains a top priority for the Albanese administration.
"We are progressing a coordinated and ambitious reform agenda to achieve meaningful consistency across jurisdictions for when a person is suitable to hold a Working with Children Check and when they should be excluded," Rowland said.
"This addresses existing gaps and inconsistencies and will improve protections for children and young people. The National Continuous Checking Capability will provide continuous, near real-time monitoring of changes to criminal history information for WWCC holders, significantly strengthening safeguards for children and young people."
The pilot program represents one of the most significant reforms to child safety screening in Australia's history, creating a unified national approach to protecting vulnerable children in educational and care settings.
