August 20th, 2025Child safety overhaul
The Victorian Government is announcing a child safety overhaul.
The Victorian Government is announcing a child safety overhaul.
It will immediate action to strengthen the Working With Children Check and child safety in early childhood education and care settings with a $42 million boost to the sector, by:
- Accepting and implementing all 22 recommendations of the independent Rapid Child Safety Review
- Bringing legislation to the next sitting week to allow for the immediate suspension of individual Working with Children Checks (WWCC)
- Establishing a new, nation-leading regulator that will more than double the frequency of compliance checks
- Beefing up the Social Services Regulator (SSR) by bringing the WWCC, the Reportable Conduct Scheme and Child Safe Standards under the one roof by the end of the year, giving it new powers, removing silos and weeding out predators
- Introducing mandatory child safety training and expanding professional support programs, including through changes to the National Law, to build a greater culture of speaking up, and
- Calling on the Federal Government to prioritise quality and safety in the national childcare system.
The work has already started and will continue in the coming weeks and months to restore trust in the sector.
