Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill overhauls Queensland's blue card system, which screens people who work or volunteer with children. It introduces a fairer risk-based assessment, expands the types of jobs and businesses requiring blue cards, and begins removing the blue card requirement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship carers. It also enables sharing of child protection court records with family law courts across Australia.
Who it affects
Blue card applicants and holders face a new assessment process, while workers in entertainment, photography, gyms, overnight camps, youth justice and amusement parks will need blue cards for the first time. First Nations people and kinship carers benefit from a more culturally responsive framework.
Key changes
- New 'real and appreciable risk' test replaces the previous 'best interests of children' test for blue card decisions, with specific consideration of systemic disadvantage for First Nations applicants
- Blue cards now required for workers in children's entertainment, party services, gyms, play facilities, photography, beauty competitions, overnight camps, youth detention services, and amusement parks
- Exemptions removed for Australian lawyers and amusement park workers providing child-related services
- Blue card requirement to be removed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship carers once a new screening framework is developed
- QCAT can now fully review blue card refusal decisions, not just whether an 'exceptional case' exists
- Employers must keep a register of employees' blue card details and comply with new auditing and monitoring powers
- Juvenile offenders no longer automatically treated as having committed a disqualifying or serious offence
Bill Story
The journey of this bill through Parliament, including debate and recorded votes.
▸Committee12 June 2024View Hansard
Referred to Community Safety and Legal Affairs Committee
The Education, Employment, Training and Skills Committee examined the bill over seven weeks, receiving 23 submissions and holding a public briefing and hearing. The committee unanimously recommended the bill be passed. It also recommended an amendment to remove the Blue Card requirement for adult household members of kinship carers, finding that the bill as introduced would simply shift existing barriers from kinship carers to their household members. The Queensland Government accepted both recommendations and moved amendments during consideration in detail.
Key findings (5)
- There was strong support from submitters for removing the Blue Card requirement for kinship carers, particularly given the significant barriers it poses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
- The committee found that the Blue Card system is not suitable for kinship care and that requiring adult household members to hold a Blue Card would undermine the bill's intent by shifting barriers rather than removing them.
- The committee supported the new risk-based decision-making framework for Blue Card assessments, finding it a progressive step that will better recognise rehabilitation and account for systemic disadvantage and intergenerational trauma.
- Stakeholders raised concerns about the 'reasonable person test' potentially leading to overly cautious decision-making, but the committee was satisfied that risk assessment guidelines and advisory committees provide sufficient safeguards.
- The committee supported expanding the scope of regulated employment and businesses, including removing the Blue Card exemption for lawyers, finding the measures proportionate to the risks involved.
Recommendations (2)
- The committee recommends the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 be passed.
- The committee recommends that the Bill be amended to remove the requirement that adult household members of kinship carers hold a Blue Card.
Committee report tabled
▸Second Reading11 Sept 2024View Hansard
▸10 members spoke10 support
Outlined reforms to the blue card system including removing blue card requirements for kinship carers, a new risk-based decision-making framework, and foreshadowed amendments to also remove requirements for adult household members of kinship carers.
“Removing the blue card requirement for kinship carers and their adult household members will not compromise the safety of children living with kin.”— 2024-09-11View Hansard
Supported reforms to the blue card system including removal of the blue card requirement for kinship carers, but criticised the government for taking years to implement the QFCC's 81 recommendations from 2017.
“For many years the removal of the blue card requirement for kinship carers has been called for by the sector, by family and carers and also by many in this House.”— 2024-09-11View Hansard
Spoke as Attorney-General defending the blue card reforms, highlighting the new risk-based threshold for assessments and the importance of reforms for First Nations communities, and foreshadowed amendments to remove blue card requirements for adult household members of kinship carers.
“The shift to a new 'risk to the safety of children' threshold to guide blue card assessments is a major step forward.”— 2024-09-11View Hansard
Welcomed changes to the blue card system including the reasonable person test and kinship carer reforms, while emphasising the need for robust safeguards in kinship care placements.
“There is much in the working with children bill that is worthy of support. It is just that it should have been done sooner.”— 2024-09-11View Hansard
Welcomed the removal of blue card requirements for kinship carers, noting the QFCC finding that blue card screening was not designed for kinship care and created barriers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
“I welcome these new reforms because I know they will encourage more families to take up kinship care and keep First Nations children connected to kinship.”— 2024-09-11View Hansard
Supported the bill as a committee member, emphasising that progress on implementing QFCC recommendations had been woefully slow and criticising the government for taking until the dying days of the parliament to act.
“It seems to me it is more about making the right noises, rather than getting down to the necessary legislative change to implement the reforms.”— 2024-09-11View Hansard
Strongly supported the blue card reforms, highlighting how the existing system had disproportionately impacted First Nations people and victim-survivors of domestic violence, and welcomed the new risk-based decision-making framework.
“Under the current test, negative notices are meant to be issued in exceptional cases where it would not be in the best interests of children for a working with children clearance to be issued. That test has next to no criteria and has been applied inconsistently.”— 2024-09-11View Hansard
Supported the bill as a committee member, noting the committee's two recommendations and the importance of removing barriers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship carers.
“Working with children checks are crucial for fostering a protective environment for our children.”— 2024-09-11View Hansard
Spoke in support of the bill as a committee member, particularly welcoming the removal of blue card barriers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship carers in her electorate.
“The existing blue card scheme, while well intentioned, was originally designed with a focus on employment suitability rather than the unique needs of kinship care.”— 2024-09-11View Hansard
Supported both bills, focusing on the kinship carer reforms and the new decision-making framework including the risk-based statutory threshold for blue card assessments.
“The Queensland Family and Child Commission kinship care report found that blue card screening is not designed for kinship care and that its processes create additional barriers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship carers.”— 2024-09-11View Hansard
▸In Detail11 Sept 2024View Hansard
Amendments 1-11 to the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill to remove the requirement for adult members of kinship carer households to hold a blue card, implementing recommendation 2 of the Education, Employment, Training and Skills Committee report.