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FACT SHEET
Child Care Amendment Bill 2014
The Child Care Amendment Bill 2014 (the Bill) makes amendments to the
Child Care Act 2001 as a consequence of, and to facilitate, the
implementation of the Registration to Work with Vulnerable People Act 2013
(the RWVP Act).
The RWVP Act was passed by Parliament late last year and commenced
on 1 July 2014. The RWVP Act provides a centralised system for the
background checking and registration of people who work (including
voluntary work), or want to work, in various regulated activities with
vulnerable people. The background checking and registration process is
managed by a screening unit within the Department of Justice.
The regulated activities are being rolled out in a staged implementation
with child care services being the first of the regulated activities to
commence. Child care service is defined in the regulations as meaning:
An education and care service as defined in clause 5 of the
Education and Care Services National Law (Tasmania) within the
meaning of the Education and Care Services National Law (Application)
Act 2011; or
A child care service as defined in section 3(1) of the Child Care Act
2001; or
Child care as defined in section 4 of the Child Care Act 2001.
This includes:
Child care centres;
Family day care services;
Nanny services and other child-minding services provided on a
commercial basis;
Babysitting services, unless the services are provided under a private
arrangement (whether or not a fee is payable); and
Au pair work, if the work involves the provision of child care.
The Child Care Act regulates the provision of some child care services. It
prohibits a person from operating or providing child care or a child care
service except as authorised by a licence or registration granted by the
Secretary of the Department of Education.
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The Secretary must not grant a licence unless satisfied of certain matters
including that the applicant or licence holder is a "fit and proper person" to
hold a licence. The "fit and proper person" test applies not only to the
applicant or licence holder, but also to other people who may be involved
in managing the child care service, child carers, ancillary staff or other
persons who may come into contact with a child to whom the child care
service is provided, such as a spouse or other relative who lives with the
applicant or licence holder.
The "fit and proper person" test includes (amongst other things):
whether the person has been charged with, or found guilty of an
offence that is punishable by a period of imprisonment within the
past 10 years (whether in Tasmania or elsewhere);
whether the person has been charged with, or found guilty of, or
otherwise disciplined for an offence against a number of specified
pieces of legislation, including the Family Violence Act 2004 and the
Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997; and
whether the person is or has been subject to an order made under
the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act, the Family
Violence Act or the Justices Act 1959 (restraint orders).
Under the new background checking and registration system established by
the RWVP Act, the screening unit will undertake a comprehensive risk
assessment including a range of checks such as:
a national criminal history check through CrimTrac;
a check that identifies all findings of guilt by a court, including those
where no conviction has been recorded or where a conviction has
been annulled;
an international criminal history check where this is available and is
considered necessary by the Registrar of the screening unit;
where available, a check of charges against the applicant regardless of
the outcome, for example, pending charges, charges that did not
proceed, etc; and
a check of orders under the Family Violence Act, the Children,
Young Persons and Their Families Act and the Justices Act (e.g.,
restraint orders, domestic violence orders etc).
The checks undertaken under the RWVP Act will incorporate and be more
extensive than the criminal history matters taken into account in the fit and
proper person test under the Child Care Act. To avoid unnecessary and
costly duplication and inconsistencies in legislation, the Bill proposes
amendments to the Child Care Act so that the fit and proper person test
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will no longer include a check of criminal offences, restraint orders and
family violence orders, but will instead take account of whether a person is
registered under the RWVP Act. If a person has been granted registration,
it means that they have passed the rigorous assessment undertaken under
that legislation including the comprehensive checks of criminal records and
orders.
The requirement for child care workers to be registered under the RWVP
Act is being phased in from 1 October 2014 to 1 January 2016 so that not
all child care workers will have to be registered at once. Prior to the
commencement of the RWVP Act, child care workers have been subject
to screening processes undertaken by the Department of Education. The
requirement to be registered under the RWVP Act depends upon the date
of expiry of the Department of Education's safety screening clearance. The
transitioning process is as follows:
People who have a safety screening clearance from the
Department of Education that expires during the period 1 July
2014 to 30 June 2015 will have to be registered under the
RWVP Act by 1 January 2015;
People who have a safety screening clearance that expires
during the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 will have to be
registered under the RWVP Act by 1 July 2015;
People who have a safety screening clearance that expires
during the period 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017 will have to be
registered under the RWVP Act by 1 January 2016; and
People who commence working in child care services on or
after 1 October 2014 will have to apply for registration under
the RWVP Act as the Department of Education will not be
issuing safety screening clearances after 30 September 2014.
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