Society

Greater Protection of Children Needed: NSW Auditor-General

A recent report by the NSW Auditor-General found critical flaws in the system of protecting children from potential abusers and molesters. The Auditor-General’s findings revealed a failure in the State’s employment screening system. The report found that 14 people assessed in 2008-09 who posed a significant risk went on to get jobs working with children. At least one had access child pornography.

“The Working With Children Check identifies about 70 prohibited people applying to work with children each year, however the system does not reliably identify all people who may pose a risk to children,” the Auditor-General, Mr Peter Achterstraat, said. Over one million people work with children in a voluntary capacity in NSW.

The report also found that forms signed by the State’s 1.3 million volunteers attesting their suitability to work with children were never checked by the NSW Commission for Children and Young People, the agency responsible for the program.

“And there are definite gaps in the checking process because not all employers are checking everyone they should,” Mr Achterstraat stated. These were some of the findings in the Working With Children Check report released yesterday by the NSW Audit Office. The audit examined whether the Working With Children Check reliably identifies people who may pose a risk to children.

“Perhaps my most concerning finding is that whatever the risk a person poses to children, as long as they are not a prohibited person (that is someone convicted of a serious child-related violence or sex offence), the Commission cannot stop them from being hired,” Mr Achterstraat said. “Indeed in 2008-09, 14 people assessed as posing a significant risk to children were still employed in child-related work.”

The Auditor-General outlined three key solutions to improve the Working With Children Check. First, the Commission needs to create a register of all volunteer organisations working with children and conduct regular audits to check volunteers are completing Prohibited Employment Declarations. Secondly, the Commission must undertake ongoing audits of relevant employers to ensure they are requesting Working With Children Checks. Thirdly, it needs to identify people who have committed a prohibited offence while in child-related employment and stop them from working with children.

Dr Gordon Moyes stated: “Given the serious gravity of this issue, the Minister for Community Services should implement the recommendations by the Auditor-General. Protecting children from abusers and molesters is paramount. I call on the NSW Government to implement these recommendations that will further protect children from danger and harm.”

As former Superintendent of Wesley Mission for 27 years, Dr Moyes was also responsible for overseeing the screening of Wesley Mission staff and volunteers. He stated: “We made sure that all staff and volunteers who worked with children through various agencies did not pose a risk. It is paramount that the safety and well being of children and young people is protected.”

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