South Australia joins national child worker criminal check system Monday
South Australia connects to a real-time criminal database that stops child workers with offences jumping state borders.
Australia tried for more than a decade to close a gap where offenders could work with children in one state even after being banned in another. From Monday, South Australia joins a test program that shares criminal histories and Working with Children check information across borders in real time.
The federal government invested $37 million into the system, which was recommended by the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse back in 2015. All states and territories agreed to join in 2025.
The database should work everywhere by 2028. Different systems in each state have slowed the rollout.
Some states lack the right computer systems needed to connect.
- $37 million
- Federal investment
- Monday
- South Australia joins
- 2028
- Full deployment target
- 2015
- Royal Commission year
Why it mattersIt closes a gap that has allowed convicted offenders to relocate and find work with children in different states, improving safety for vulnerable groups.
AustraliaAll Australian states will eventually plug into this system, making it harder for people with child-related criminal convictions to move between states and find work in child-focused roles.
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