Baby killer Tina Terlato cleared to work with children despite the government being warned ‘time and time again’

A Victorian woman who killed her eight-week-old daughter was granted a Working with Children Check through a loophole that has angered child safety advocates and victim families.

The heartbroken family of a woman who killed her eight-week-old daughter but was still given a Working with Children permit are calling for urgent reform to the system.

Tina Terlato pleaded guilty to infanticide after her baby Amanda died with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain in April 2012 and her twin sister Alicia suffered terrible trauma leaving her with a lifelong brain injury.

Despite this, the Victorian woman received her Working with Children Check (WWCC) in 2021, and was able to volunteer with Essendon Football Club’s cheer squad making banners with children.

Tina Terlato pleaded guilty to infanticide after her baby Amanda died with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain in April 2012.

Her former sister-in-law Michelle Terlato says the government has failed her family catastrophically.

“I am angry that the government had a chance to fix this issue, and were warned about the problem time and time again but failed to act,” she said.

“The Department of Justice told us (in 2021) that Working with Children Checks can still be granted to serious offenders if they undergo a risk assessment. Surely this means they are putting the rights of the criminals before the needs of the children?”

Tina Terlato received her Working with Children Check in 2021 and was able to volunteer with Essendon Football Club’s cheer squad.

In most states, including Victoria, even those guilty of the most serious crimes – including rape, murder and sexual offences – can be granted Working with Children Checks if they undergo risk assessments and are deemed to no longer pose a threat.

The loophole has angered child safety advocates and victim families.

“We never felt they were ever on the side of the victims, the children or the family,” Michelle said.

“Everybody who has experienced the Victorian system says they are victims twice, first by the offence and then by the Department of Justice.”

Michelle, who now lives in Queensland, says the family is trapped behind a “minefield of privacy” that prevents them knowing whether Tina still has a clearance to work with children or even has a conviction recorded against her.

“It should be a public process, we should know if they are in possession of these permits,” she said.

Anthony Albanese has signalled support for a national WWCC register.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has made it the first item on the agenda for her first standing council of attorneys-general in August.

“We’ve got different states and territories with their own schemes for Working with Children Checks and reportable conduct – they do not talk to other states and there is no system of oversight,” she said.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has made a national WWCC register the first item on the agenda for her first standing council of attorneys-general in August. Picture: Martin Ollman

“So, the piece of work that we have, and what I have before me as Attorney-General, is to ensure that we have a solution that allows near real-time reporting, access to data, making sure that we’ve got consistency and uniformity across that.”

The case has reignited calls for the appeals process to be scrapped for serious offenders, with victim advocates arguing that serious crimes should result in permanent exclusion from working with children.

Premier Jacinta Allan conceded the state’s systems “have not worked” and that a register of childcare workers “should have been in place already”.

Opposition spokeswoman Jess Wilson said the Labor government “failed to implement the 2022 recommendations from the Ombudsman that would have immediately strengthened the system”.

Essendon Football Club was contacted for comment.

A Victorian government spokesman said the government had commissioned “an urgent review into child safety, announced a ban on the use of personal devices in childcare centres and we’re working to establish a register of childcare educators”.

“This is a national issue and a nationally consistent WWCC framework with more scrutiny and higher penalties must be a priority for the Commonwealth.”

They would not comment on the individual case involving Tina Terlato.

Originally published as Baby killer Tina Terlato cleared to work with children despite the government being warned ‘time and time again’