Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 5:36:04 to 5:41:27
Minister Aly outlines a suite of reforms intended to break the business model of perpetrators, including the first national register of early childhood educators and device bans.
Topics: Child safety, Workplace relations
Speakers: Senator Jess Walsh, Senator Matt O'Sullivan, Senator Marielle Smith
>> Minister on four corners. You quoted your you was your voice. Uh there's been a reckoning in the system over the past 12 months changing in no small part because of the way in which you have shone a light to the problems in early learning. Given that the department has said that it does not hold or have access to national data on the prevalence of abuse and neglect, what information is the government using to identify problems across the sector and how does it ensure that those problems come to light without a media
Um, Senator, I think there's a there's a different sort of streams of answer to that. Um, and I know I know you like short answers, but it's, you know, it's a big and important.
>> I'm happy if you'd explore if you can be direct though to the question.
>> So, I think um there's a there's a there's a few things. one is that the reforms that we've put in place um which were recommended to us to to keep children safe um are on track and are on time. So there's a sort of um there's a body of work around what were the recommendations, you know, are we implementing them? Are they on track and on time? Um and all of that information is publicly available. Um and then I think you know there's a whole body of work around uh information that is available on issues in services um which is published um as I think you would be aware by squa um but which we have also um made available um as part of the reforms that we've we've made to to parents so that they have information um about what is going on in their services. Um and then I think you know in in relation to I think the particular offenders that you're talking talking about there particularly you know the um really horrific sorts of offenses that we've I am, you know, briefed from time to time as we as we know from the AFP. Uh and what the AFP have said to me in the last um briefing that I've had with them is effectively that the changes that we're putting in place are breaking the business model of these sorts of perpetrators. Um because um some time ago um there was if you like something of a sort of a revolving door of people coming in and out of the sector. There was really high workforce um turnover. Um and that was you know a significant problem. Um the pay rise that we've put in place which stabilizes the sector is incredibly important to that. It's not always seen as a safety measure. Um but it is foundational to to keeping children safe. Um and then if you um sort of consider what now occurs in early learning services because of the reforms that we've put in place, if you're this sort of um perpetrator and according to um advice from the AFP, um you know, not only do you need to, you know, be be qualified and you know, apply for a position um in a service, you will now be um on a register um which is the the first ever register of course of early childhood educators which allows regulators to track um movements across the service. Um every single person that you're working with and alongside um will have been trained to recognize you um and the behaviors that you are exhibiting in that service. um you will not be able to um you know and these are difficult issues to talk about but you will not be able to have a device um with you in that service um that are so often implicated in these sorts of offenses. Um your provider um you know will um have triple the penalties than they had before for any any um breach um which puts providers on notice. So um I am really confident that the reforms that we have put in place are the right reforms. They're on track. They're working. The data that we do have says that more services than ever u meeting and exceeding the national quality standards which is important data. Um but we would never say Senator that it's job done. You know, we'd never say that the work is done. We always need to to do more to to keep children safe.
>> Senator, just mindful we've got a number of senators seeking the call. So, I'm going to rotate now, but I'm coming back to you after this rotation. So, Senator Hodgins May.