The Commission for Children and Young People Amendment Act 2009 was proclaimed to commence on 18 December 2009.  This Act implements the agreement made by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on 29 November 2008 to enable information about the criminal history of any persons who work or wish to work with children to be exchanged between all jurisdictions. It is now possible for New South Wales to release criminal history information on request to all jurisdictions for the Working with Children Checks. In effect this will mean that the Commissioner of Police may now disclose criminal history information to interstate law enforcement agencies and employment screening agencies of other States and Territories. This will help employers  obtain more comprehensive Working with Children Checks and make more informed decisions about employing the correct person in child related employment, The obvious benefit will be increased protection for children, the most vulnerable members of the community.

It is also worth noting that the Act recognises the change in name of the ‘Department of Community Services’ to the ‘Department of Human Services’.

If you have any queries regarding the impact of this legislation or about child protection generally, we encourage you to contact Sharminie Niles of our office to discuss it.