Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has admitted that urgent measures to close loopholes in Australia’s childcare system, which are being exploited by child abusers, may take up to 12 months to implement.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of federal, state, and territory attorneys-general today, Ms Rowland said abusers were “shopping around” childcare centres to bypass existing background checks. Currently, bans imposed in one state do not automatically apply nationwide.
“This is clearly unacceptable,” Ms Rowland told the ABC. “We need a system where if you are banned in one jurisdiction, you are banned in all. But different state laws, complex IT systems, and fragmented regulations mean this won’t be fixed overnight.”
The urgent talks come a month after the arrest of Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown, who faces more than 70 charges linked to alleged abuse at a Point Cook centre. Recent revelations have also shown that a Victorian childcare worker kept his Working With Children Check despite being sacked for sexual misconduct in 2020 and banned from the sector in 2024.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the situation as “hopeless,” saying governments should have acted earlier.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended a national Working With Children Check a decade ago, but the gap remains. Ms Rowland said Labor began work on reforms last term after the case of convicted paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith in 2022.
Friday’s meeting will consider both immediate measures—such as continuous monitoring and information sharing—and longer-term reforms to lift standards for excluding unsuitable workers. Ms Rowland stressed that while 12 months is a long time, the changes must be done properly to protect children nationwide.
