00:00We're undergoing a lot of reform and strengthening of the systems we've got in place to ensure
00:07that our systems are working well, but also that all the employers and organisations in
00:11child-related areas know their obligations.
00:14Well of the more than 200 organisations found in breach, only five were fined.
00:21Is that sending a strong enough message to employers doing the wrong thing?
00:24Well, what we need to do and what we are doing across the state is ensuring that the
00:28message is really loud and clear.
00:31We're making sure that we're closing down loopholes in terms of the appeals process.
00:37We're leading the push on national information sharing across jurisdictions.
00:44Now on the appeals, you've introduced legislation to remove the right of a person refused a working
00:49with children's cheque to appeal the decision through NCAT.
00:53Well what we are doing is people will still have an appeal process if they get their working
00:57with children's cheque refused or cancelled, but it will become an internal process within
01:02the Office of the Children's Guardian.
01:04And that process will be undertaken by child safety experts.
01:09We're seeing decisions where people who were disqualified from having their working with
01:15children's cheque in place, they were having those disqualifications overturned.
01:22They were charged and convicted of certain horrific acts and yet NCAT was overturning the disqualification
01:32and still giving them a working with children's cheque.
01:35That's not okay for me and it's not okay, I think, for the mums and dads out there who
01:40are taking their kids to early childhood education centres.
01:43The early childhood education sector has been in the spotlight lately over child safety issues,
01:48but most ill treatment allegations reported to the Children's Guardian have come from
01:52non-government out-of-home care providers.
01:55Why are those places so unsafe?
01:57Because when we came into government the system was spiralling out of control and I spoke to
02:03a lot of kids and when they're telling me that they haven't felt safe the entire time that
02:07they're in the out-of-home care system, nothing speaks to me more clearly as Minister responsible
02:14for those kids, that we must reform the system significantly to ensure that there's greater
02:21transparency and accountability for every single provider.
02:25A review of the legislation underpinning working with children's cheques is underway with a discussion
02:29paper due to be released this year.
02:32What changes are being considered?
02:33There's a raft of smaller changes that's been proposed by the Office of the Children's Guardian,
02:39it'll go to community consultation.
02:41Working with children's cheques are valid for five years, are you looking at reducing
02:44that or raising the threshold to get a clearance?
02:47We're not looking at reducing the five years because New South Wales currently has the strongest
02:53working with children's cheques system in the country and it's strong because we do
02:57do continuous monitoring of criminal charges, of reportable conduct allegations.
03:04You ordered an urgent inquiry into the workplace culture of the Office of the Children's
03:07Guardian over allegations you described as serious and disturbing and which prompted the
03:12Children's Guardian to step aside.
03:14Last month you received a report from that inquiry, what did it find?
03:18It's quite separate to the working with children's cheques strengthening work that we're doing.
03:23There were serious allegations, concerns coming to us and so I did stand up the Special Ministerial
03:29Inquiry.
03:30I have had the report come to me, I can't speak with you about that right now but I can
03:36say I will be tabling it in Parliament.
03:37And when can we expect that report?
03:39It'll be before the end of the year.
03:41With reforms to working with children's cheques underway, this is a critical time for the
03:46Office of the Children's Guardian.
03:48How can the public be confident the authority is up to the job when a cloud is hanging over
03:51its workplace culture?
03:52We've had an acting Children's Guardian holding the reins very steadily in place whilst the
03:58other process has been playing out and every single worker there takes their job incredibly
04:04seriously and their work is incredibly important.
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