Victoria Moves to Strengthen Child Safety with Overhaul of Working with Children Checks

***WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT*** In response to alarming revelations of child abuse within early learning settings, the Victorian Government has announced sweeping changes to the state’s Working with Children Check (WWCC) laws—aimed at tightening safeguards and closing systemic loopholes.

Shocking Breach Sparks Urgent Reform

The catalyst for this reform stems from the arrest of a Melbourne childcare worker who was charged with over 70 child sex offences. Despite a history spanning 20 childcare centres over eight years, the accused held a valid WWCC throughout. This deeply disturbing case exposed critical gaps in the existing system—where only criminal convictions or regulatory findings could revoke a check.

“This is just the first step to strengthen the Working with Children Check system to ensure that awful incidents that have occurred never happen again,” said Government Services Minister Natalie Hutchins.

What’s Changing?

From August, the Department of Government Services (DGS) will be empowered to consider prohibition notices from the Department of Education when reviewing or revoking WWCC permits. This means individuals deemed unfit to work in educational settings may now be barred from holding a WWCC, even in the absence of formal charges.

However, unlike some other Australian states, Victoria will still not factor in child protection reports or police intelligence—a gap critics argue must be closed.

National Consistency Long Overdue

It has been a decade since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended a unified, national WWCC system. Former Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald slammed the lack of progress as “shameful,” calling for real-time police databases and consistent national standards.

“The longer we delay in fixing the system, the more we continue to leave children at risk,” Fitzgerald said.

Prevention Over Punishment

The Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF) has called on governments to embed mandatory child abuse prevention training into the WWCC process. While WWCCs help screen for past offences, the ACF points out that most perpetrators have no prior convictions.

“You just need to go through a police screening. There’s zero training involved,” said ACF advocate Emma Hakansson. “Until prevention training is embedded in the scheme, it simply won’t work.”

A National Framework in Progress

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan confirmed that mandatory training is being considered as part of a broader national framework for early childhood safety.

“We understand there is a need to look at what happened, to understand it, and to strengthen the regulations,” Premier Allan stated.

What Implications Do These Changes Have For Early Childhood Education Centers?

The upcoming changes to Victoria’s Working with Children Check (WWCC) system carry several important implications for early childhood education (ECE) centres, particularly in how they approach compliance, safeguarding, and staff development:

1. Stronger Compliance Obligations

Broader grounds for WWCC refusal/revocation mean centres must stay vigilant about staff status updates and any regulatory alerts or prohibition notices.
Services may need to enhance HR processes to ensure that staff checks are actively monitored, not just validated at hiring.

2. Policy and Procedure Updates

Centres will need to review and revise enrolment, recruitment, and induction policies, explicitly including processes for managing prohibition notices or pending investigations.
Emergency response and whisleblower protocols might also need tightening to address situations where child safety risks are suspected but not yet criminally charged.

3. Mandatory Training on the Horizon

The push for compulsory child abuse prevention training embedded within the WWCC process foreshadows future expectations for professional learning plans.
Services might consider proactively incorporating risk identification and response training into regular PD to align with emerging standards and safeguard best practice.

4. Reflective Practice and Cultural Change

The reforms highlight the importance of cultivating a workplace culture where early risk indicators are recognised and reported—not dismissed due to lack of formal charges.
Encouraging open conversations, supervision check-ins, and scenario-based discussions can help educators feel confident navigating concerns.

5. Alignment with National Frameworks

As the discussion turns toward a national WWCC scheme, services operating across borders will need to align documentation and staff protocols with varying jurisdictional checks.
Early adoption of a nationally informed safeguarding lens may position centres well ahead of mandated reforms.