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Snapshot

  • The Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 has been regularly improved since its enactment.
  • Recent changes were made to the Act and the Child Protection (Working with Children) Regulation 2013 largely in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the five year Statutory Review of the Act.

Since its enactment, the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 (‘the Act’) has been subject to continuous improvement in response to operational issues identified by users of the scheme, changes in community expectations and, most recently, issues highlighted by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse and the five year statutory review of the Act. The most recent changes were made by the Child Protection (Working with Children) Amendment (Statutory Review) Act 2018 and Child Protection (Working with Children) Amendment (Miscellaneous) Regulation 2018 which commenced on 1 June and 29 August 2018 respectively.

The Act is administered by the Office of the Children’s Guardian (‘OCG’). It is nationally recognised as one of the most robust Working with Children (‘WWC‘) schemes in Australia and it aligns closely with the WWC National Standards recommended by the Royal Commission. Now, five years on from its 2013 commencement, we are presented with a timely opportunity to consider its role in keeping safe the children of NSW.

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