Overview

• All states and territories have committed to mutual recognition of working-with-children bans so that anyone barred in one jurisdiction cannot hold a check elsewhere.
• Reforms mandate real-time sharing of criminal histories and tougher eligibility criteria to close loopholes that allowed offenders to ‘shop around’ for weaker checks.
• Implementation details remain uncertain after Attorney-General Michelle Rowland warned full capability could take up to 12 months even as officials push for a system operational by year’s end without a single central database.
• Under new federal powers, the Department of Education has given 30 services six months to meet National Quality Standards or risk suspension or cancellation of childcare subsidies.
• Education ministers will next consider complementary measures including mandatory CCTV, child safety training and a national register of educators.