Greens amendments close critical child protection loophole affecting ECEC workforce

A significant legislative amendment passed in the New South Wales Parliament will strengthen child protection measures within the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector, following advocacy from the Greens.

The amendment, led by Greens NSW MLC and Education Committee Chair Abigail Boyd, closes a longstanding loophole in the Child Protection (Working with Children) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, which previously allowed individuals banned from the ECEC sector to retain a valid Working With Children Check (WWCC).

The previous system permitted a person who had received a Prohibition Notice, banning them from working in early childhood education and care to keep their Working With Children Check without any automatic review.

The Greens’ amendments now require that any such notice must trigger a formal risk assessment by the Office of the Children’s Guardian before a Working With Children Check can be issued or retained.

Under the revised legislation, the Office of the Children’s Guardian is now required to conduct a mandatory risk assessment whenever a Prohibition Notice is issued by the Regulatory Authority. This process will determine whether the individual should be permitted to obtain or maintain a WWCC.

In a media release issued by the Greens NSW on 18 September 2025, Ms Boyd said the changes were especially important given the ongoing lack of a central register of ECEC workers and persistent concerns regarding transparency within the NSW Regulatory Authority.

Evidence gathered through a call for papers initiated by the Greens in 2024 revealed that individuals who had been prohibited from working in ECEC services were still able to hold valid WWCCs. Data provided by the Office of the Children’s Guardian confirmed that Prohibition Notices were not routinely triggering reassessment, with nearly half of recipients maintaining their clearances.

“This is a hugely significant amendment that closes a glaring loophole, and will have a direct and immediate impact to keep children safe,” Ms Boyd said. “It’s astonishing that the issue had not previously been identified by either the Regulatory Authority or the Office of the Children’s Guardian.”

“In the current climate, a valid Working With Children Check remains one of the few tools services can use to screen potential employees. Without automatic reassessment following a prohibition notice, that tool is fundamentally undermined.”

The amendments also highlight broader concerns around information sharing between regulatory bodies and services, particularly in New South Wales, where access to compliance and prohibition data is limited compared to other jurisdictions.

Ms Boyd acknowledged the Parliament’s support of the amendments, adding that child protection must “remain above politics” and that legislative reform should be “informed by evidence, not expediency”.