Overview

• The federal government is fast-tracking a bill to suspend funding for childcare centres that repeatedly breach national quality and safety standards.
• Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has pledged a unified near real-time national Working With Children check system to harmonize state schemes and enhance data sharing on reportable conduct.
• Queensland will launch a state child safety commission led by Paul Anastassiou KC next week to review systemic failings and recommend practical reforms.
• New South Wales has begun implementing Wheeler review recommendations, including mandatory CCTV installations, public incident reporting and greater transparency on waivers and assessment intervals.
• Chronic staffing shortages, low wages and lengthy gaps between quality assessments are driving reliance on temporary waivers and undermining consistent safety oversight.