Outrage as Working with Children Check only takes 30 minutes and requires a simple online form

It has been revealed that the Working with Children Check (WWCC) is only a 30-minute online form for anyone without a criminal record, compared with 10 hours of training for a permit to serve alcohol.

A major spotlight has this week been put on child safety checks after a man was charged with 70 offences at a Melbourne childcare centre.

Childcare worker Joshua Brown, 26, has been charged in relation to eight victims who attended a Point Cook childcare centre between April 2022 and January 2023.

A Working with Children Check is handled state-by-state but usually involves a national police check and a review of reportable workplace misconduct.

Previously, the check has been a key tool used to ensure kids are being kept safe.

The Herald Sun compared the online form with Victoria’s Responsible Service of Alcohol course, which requires up to 10 hours of training in order to become certified.

A number of childhood sexual abuse advocates, including Australian Childhood Foundation survivor Emma Hakansson, 25, said it was “laughable” that governments considered the current checks acceptable.

“The adult who sexually abused me also had a WWCC,” she said in a report in the publication.

“The WWCC could be a tool to arm safe adults with training to keep children safe, and it’s absurd we trust adults with children without any training, while training is required to serve alcohol, even to handle food.”

On Friday, journalists Luke Bona and Susie O’Brien joined Nat Barr on Sunrise to discuss the relative ease in meeting the Working with Children Check requirement.

Both called for tougher regulations.

“The story that has sparked all this is the most horrific thing,” Bona said.

“Remember, everybody is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but the spotlight is certainly on the safety and welfare of our children.

“The safety of our children is the most important thing we can offer, and we must provide it.

“So, I take my hat off to Hetty Johnson from Bravehearts who’s going to form her own course.

“But, it’s got to be mandatory, because the message is, we’ve got to keep kids safe at all costs.”

This week, journalist Susie O’Brien reported that educators facing serious allegations can still work in childcare centres for up to two years due to regulatory issues.

They are often allowed to work during investigations into their conduct.

“The comparison between the RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) and the Working with Children Check is really interesting, because you can be fined $10,000 for serving someone drunk,” O’Brien began.

“You probably lose your job, find it hard to get another job.

“But you can be a childcare worker who molests a toddler.

“Yes, you will lose your job, but you can continue working in other centres for up to two years, while they decide if you’re guilty or not, particularly in this state, but other states as well.

“It can take up to two years for a predator to be removed from childcare centres.

“That is a massive problem.”