Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 8:00:05 to 8:04:27
The committee examines the role of CCTV in childcare centers for identifying abuse versus preserving evidence, and the national guidance provided to services regarding privacy and footage storage.
Topics: Education, Child safety, Privacy
Speakers: Senator Matt O'Sullivan, Ms. Lisa McCoy, Speaker 22, Speaker 30, Unknown Speaker
>> Thank you. Yeah, just just one last block chair here for awareness. Uh so what role if any did a secret play in the design and uh and conducting the national CCTV assessment and trial?
>> Uh thank you Senator. We were consulted as part of the process by governments to um undertake that evaluation.
Did the assessment and evaluation examine whether CCTV is being reviewed routinely or whether the footage is generally just accessed after a complaint or incident?
>> Uh, Senator, I'm unable to answer that question as we don't have it that those are matters for uh governments and the department may be able to answer that. Who led that project?
>> So, that wasn't part of your evaluation.
>> We didn't undertake the evaluation. We
were >> I thought you just said you did.
>> No, no, sorry. Um we were consulted in relation to the evaluation undertaken by the department.
>> I see
>> by the department.
>> Uh did you provide any advice uh to the government about the use of CCTV to identify possible abuse or neglect uh rather than simply preserve evidence after an incident.
>> Thank you, Senator. our 2023 child safety report did touch on this um and so we reiterated uh as part of the consultation the findings in that 2023 uh report. I might ask Miss McCoy just to add about those uh findings in the 2023 report.
>> Uh thanks Senator. Um, as Miss Buchanan said in our 2023 review of child safety arrangements, we did cover, uh, CCTV. Uh and in terms of that um consistent with what was discussed earlier uh with the department um we found um based on the research we did that CCTV didn't prevent um matters um matters of um abuse occurring but it certainly um did uh support and um particularly regulatory authorities um and also services in in uh being able to look at that CCTV our recommendations in in the review covered um and which have been um implemented by governments and are included on the tracker on our uh SQA website. There's recommendations there. They've been followed up about having policies in place about CCTV. Um and that's been um uh policy um information advice has been developed for services to use to enable um parents to understand about CCTV and um consents in place and how it works where and about the data and security issues around that.
>> So does the NQF provide any guidance uh requirement around the review of footage?
>> I might ask Miss Walden Chan to talk to that. Thank you, Senator.
Senator, uh the NQF includes a requirement for services to have policies and procedures. Uh and there are a whole range of different ones they need to have and they need to follow them. One of those um is around uh uh the use and um storage of images of children. Um and that does cover if they use CCTV then they need to have a policy and procedure in place about how they manage that. And as Ms. McCoy um mentioned it is things like ensuring that children's um privacy is upheld, who has access to those images, those those kinds of things, but that's as far as we as the framework goes.
>> Okay. Um what national guidance are you providing uh in in in relation to CCTV, including who should be able to access the footage, and which sort of goes to the point you were just making there, and how long it should be kept and how concerns identified. Is is this sort of something that's um promoted uh in terms of >> like a providers fully aware of their obligations?
>> Senator, I think those questions go to policy decisions of government governments through EMM.
>> Okay. Do so do you have an sort of an educative role though with with providers or
>> Yes, certainly Senator we do uh we develop resources, provide guidance, training, support. Uh but the matter of CCTV is still subject as I understand it to uh government's consideration through