❓ Hon Steve Martin asks about the process and statistics related to the suspension of Working with Children (WWC) cards following criminal charges. The Minister provides details on triggers for suspension, turnaround times, and the number of suspensions in 2024-25.
AnsweredQoN 577Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Working with children checks577.Hon Steve Martinto
theminister representing the Minister for Child
Protection:I refer to the
minister's response to my recent question without notice 506 in relation to
working with children checks.(1) Does the automatic sending of "Any change
to a person's criminal history information" include charges that have yet
to be concluded via the court process?(2) What criminal charges automatically trigger an
immediate temporary suspension while the court process takes place?(3) How many cards were suspended due to individuals
facing criminal charges in 2024–25?(4) What is the target
turnaround time for the process in (3), from the individual being charged to
thesuspension of a WWC card?(5) In relation to (4), what was the average
number of suspensions for 2024–25?
theminister representing the Minister for Child
Protection:I refer to the
minister's response to my recent question without notice 506 in relation to
working with children checks.(1) Does the automatic sending of "Any change
to a person's criminal history information" include charges that have yet
to be concluded via the court process?(2) What criminal charges automatically trigger an
immediate temporary suspension while the court process takes place?(3) How many cards were suspended due to individuals
facing criminal charges in 2024–25?(4) What is the target
turnaround time for the process in (3), from the individual being charged to
thesuspension of a WWC card?(5) In relation to (4), what was the average
number of suspensions for 2024–25?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
19 August 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. The Department of
Communities has advised the following.(1) Yes.(2) Charges related to class 1 offences, which
include some serious crimes such as sexual offences against children, murder
and other violent crimes, result in the immediate issuance of an interim
negative notice. This prevents an individual from engaging in child-related
work while an assessment is conducted.(3) The answer is 56.(4) The working with children screening unit
receives criminal history updates in near real time. These matters are given
the highest priority with interim negative notices generally issued the same
day as notification.(5) The requested information is not regularly
reported, and it is not able to be gathered without an unreasonable use of
departmental resources.
Working with children checks
honourable member for some notice of the question. The following response has
been provided by the Minister for Child Protection. The Department of
Communities has advised the following.(1) Yes.(2) Charges related to class 1 offences, which
include some serious crimes such as sexual offences against children, murder
and other violent crimes, result in the immediate issuance of an interim
negative notice. This prevents an individual from engaging in child-related
work while an assessment is conducted.(3) The answer is 56.(4) The working with children screening unit
receives criminal history updates in near real time. These matters are given
the highest priority with interim negative notices generally issued the same
day as notification.(5) The requested information is not regularly
reported, and it is not able to be gathered without an unreasonable use of
departmental resources.
Working with children checks
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.