❓ Hon. Maryka Groenewald questions the Minister for Child Protection regarding the exclusion of supervisors/coworkers of minors from mandatory Working with Children Checks and asks if the government will commit to updating the requirements. The Minister acknowledges the question and refers to an ongoing consultation process.
AnsweredQoN 1027Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
Working with children checks1027.Hon Maryka Groenewaldto theminister representing
the Minister for Child Protection:My question without
notice of which some notice is given is to the parliamentary secretary—no!
It is to the minister representing the Minister for Child Protection. For once
it is not to the honourable member!I refer to the
working with children check requirements in Western Australia, which currently
exclude supervisors and coworkers of minors unless they engage in child-related
work.(1) Can the minister explain why this exception
exists?(2) Will the government commit to updating working
with children check requirements to apply to all employees in a workplace where
minors are present?
the Minister for Child Protection:My question without
notice of which some notice is given is to the parliamentary secretary—no!
It is to the minister representing the Minister for Child Protection. For once
it is not to the honourable member!I refer to the
working with children check requirements in Western Australia, which currently
exclude supervisors and coworkers of minors unless they engage in child-related
work.(1) Can the minister explain why this exception
exists?(2) Will the government commit to updating working
with children check requirements to apply to all employees in a workplace where
minors are present?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
12 November 2025
Response time
0 days
Hon Jackie Jarvis replied:I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following response has
been provided by the Minister for Child Protection.(1) For the purpose of the definition of "child-related
work" in section 6(1) in theWorking with Children
(Screening) Act 2004section 6(2) specifies that contact with the child
does not include contact between a person and a child who is employed by the
person or between a person and a child who are both employed by the same person
if the contact is lawful and arises in the normal course of the child's
employment.(2) On 24 September 2025, the Minister for Child
Protection released a consultation paper regarding improvements to working with
children legislation to support the implementation of the remaining recommendations
of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The
responses to the consultation will inform future considerations of improvements
to this important child safety measure.
Working with children checks
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following response has
been provided by the Minister for Child Protection.(1) For the purpose of the definition of "child-related
work" in section 6(1) in theWorking with Children
(Screening) Act 2004section 6(2) specifies that contact with the child
does not include contact between a person and a child who is employed by the
person or between a person and a child who are both employed by the same person
if the contact is lawful and arises in the normal course of the child's
employment.(2) On 24 September 2025, the Minister for Child
Protection released a consultation paper regarding improvements to working with
children legislation to support the implementation of the remaining recommendations
of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The
responses to the consultation will inform future considerations of improvements
to this important child safety measure.
Working with children checks
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