Labor pledges $37m for National Continuous Checking Capability in childcare safety push

Labor is pumping $37m into a national system to help authorities learn if any Working With Children Check (WWCC) holders engage in criminal activity.

State and territory governments are responsible for issuing WWCCs but information-sharing barriers have created loopholes for potential child abusers.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission announced in March it was working on the National Continuous Checking Capability (NCCC) to close such loopholes.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland will announce on Friday that a NCCC pilot will be ready for states and territories by the end of the year.

“Child safety is a top priority for the Albanese government,” Ms Rowland said in a statement.

“That’s why we are progressing a co-ordinated and ambitious reform agenda to achieve meaningful consistency across jurisdictions for when a person is suitable to hold a WWCC and when they should be excluded.

“This addresses existing gaps and inconsistencies and will improve protections for children and young people.”

The $37m will be invested into the NCCC over five years.

Under the system, a WWCC ban in one state or territory would be a ban in all.

“This system will provide continuous, near real-time monitoring of changes to criminal history information for WWCC holders, significantly strengthening safeguards for children and young people,” Ms Rowland said.

“I look forward to continuing to work with my state and territory counterparts to deliver this ambitious reform agenda and ensure our children and young people are safe from harm.”

The announcement comes after a string of allegations of child abuse at early learning centres across the country.

Parliament passed new laws in July giving the federal government powers to withhold the Childcare Centre Subsidy (CCS) from centres that fail to meet safety standards.

Operators with a bad history are also prevented from opening new centres, and parents have access to information on whether a centre has been subjected to conditions or if its CCS application rejected.