Australia facing backlog for Working with Children background checks

Perth Now. The review said there was “some risk to the community” from at least 40 people with criminal records who were able to work with children while waiting for their assessment. There are also countless others working with children – whose applications are stuck in a backlog of almost 10,000 – which have not yet been checked for a criminal history. “This backlog represents a risk to the effective operation of the (Working with Children) Act, as applicants are able to work with a receipt following the lodgement of applications.” Meanwhile, the “unrelenting high demand” of applications in the Department of Child Protection’s WWC screening unit was leaving officers “vulnerable to burnout” and causing high staff turnover. Since 2006 the number of applications each year has risen from 20,000 to 100,000 – yet staff numbers have not even doubled. Some suggest that a solution would be to cut the number of checks being performed. However, we strongly agree with Adults Surviving Child Abuse president Cathy Kezelman, who said that reducing the regularity of checks would further expose kids to abuse: “The suggestion of extending checks from three to five years is concerning because then there is more potential for children to be harmed.” Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Act The Review of the Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Act, tabled in parliament this month, also found serious concerns over people who had been declined a card still being able to work with children as a parent volunteer. Reviews like this are key in ensuring that authorities are continuously and effectively working to ensure children’s safety. Although we don’t like to find problems in the protection systems we create, only by finding them can we then fill them. Background screening reviews have been occurring in the USA too this year, with the EEOC enforcing their own strategic plan to reduce employment discrimination and protect businesses. Want to learn more? Get in touch today.    ]]>