Working With Children Check legislation introduced to keep kids safe

5 August 2025

The NSW Government has today introduced legislation into Parliament to strengthen Working with Children Checks (WWCC) to better protect children from harm.

The legislation will ensure only the Office of the Children’s Guardian – the state’s independent child safety regulator – will be responsible for reviewing WWCC decisions, removing external appeal pathways through the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

Currently, people with serious criminal histories – including offences involving children – can have decisions made by the Office of the Children’s Guardian overturned. In some cases, this has allowed individuals who were disqualified to return to child-related work.

This reform ensures decisions about who can work with children are made – and reviewed – by the body best placed to assess risk to children, the Office of the Children’s Guardian.

The same change will be made for NDIS Worker Checks, strengthening the existing internal appeals process within the Office of the Children’s Guardian to provide a more consistent and specialist approach to safety for people with disability.

To close gaps in the system across the country, the NSW Government will also advocate for a national register of Working with Children Checks at National Cabinet– so parents can be confident that individuals working with children have been properly cleared – no matter which state or territory they’ve previously worked in.

NSW will work with the Commonwealth and other jurisdictions to integrate WWCC systems and close information gaps that offenders may exploit by moving interstate.

The legislation is part of the Minns Labor Government’s broader commitment to child safety – including recent reforms to lift standards and accountability in early childhood education and care, such as:

Higher fines for service breaches;

• A new, standalone regulator with stronger enforcement powers;
• Greater transparency for families on the safety record of providers;
• A CCTV trial to improve oversight of underperforming services.

Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos said:

“Families need to know the system will catch the people it’s supposed to.

“Stronger regulation isn’t just overdue — it’s essential. We’re putting safety and accountability back at the heart of early education and care.”

Minister for Families and Communities, and Disability Inclusion, Kate Washington said:

“Convicted sex offenders should not have a pathway back into child-related work, full stop.

“This legislation closes that loophole for good. It puts child safety decisions where they belong — with the independent expert regulator whose job it is to protect children.”