Volunteers without Working with Children Checks caught taking part in kids’ sports

Kids’ sport spectators are being roped into last-minute volunteering without holding Working With Children Checks, putting kids at ‘serious risk’, whistleblowers claim.

Kids’ sport spectators are being roped into last-minute volunteering, despite not holding Working With Children Checks

Kids’ sport spectators are being roped into last-minute volunteering without holding Working With Children Checks (WWCC), in what whistleblowers claim is one example of grassroots organisations not following correct procedure and putting kids at “serious risk”.

It comes as male childcare workers and industry experts have lashed suggestions that men should be banned from working in the industry as “unethical” amid a growing number of serious allegations against the sector in recent days.

Sources familiar with WWCCs in local community organisations revealed to The Daily Telegraph they had been alerted to at least five incidents in three months where checks had not been properly conducted on volunteers.

They included parents stepping in at the last minute to volunteer at their local sporting clubs without club secretaries verifying if the fill-ins held a WWCC.

“This is putting children at serious risk and in harm’s way … organisations must do better,” one source said.

An OCG spokesman said organisations must verify WWCCs or face penalties, which include a fine of up to $11,000.

It comes after Premier Chris Minns committed to toughen laws hours when The Daily Telegraph revealed this week more than two dozen people with links to serious crimes, including child sexual offences, had obtained a WWCC by appealing to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) since 2020.

Lawyer Danielle De Paoli, from Maurice Blackburn, says working with children checks are not ‘foolproof’. Picture: Supplied

Danielle De Paoli, special counsel and head of Maurice Blackburn’s NSW abuse law practice, said the challenge with volunteer organisations and charities was that they were running “very thin” on resources.

But Ms De Paoli said this was “not an excuse” for an organisation not to carry out the proper checks and balances.

She said there was no doubt a number of organisations did not fully understand that the system itself was not “foolproof” and relied on notifications being made.

“There needs to be more education in this area … Organisations like sporting clubs and Scout groups that have responsibility for children need to ensure that working with children checks are up to date and being verified.”

Ms De Paoli, who is also a member protection person at a local sporting club, said the team was looking at having three people “verified” to ensure additional child safety measures were put in place.

“This means there will be three people overseeing the safety of children. It adds an extra layer of protection and gives clubs options if one verified person is away.

“Everything must be done to ensure the safety of children.”

Child safety advocate Renee Carter, chief executive of Adopt Change, said every child and young person had the right to grow up safe, supported and free from harm.

“The lifelong impact of abuse cannot be understated, and that’s why we advocate for the highest level of regulation and rigour across all sectors working with children,” she said.

“There must be no exceptions: everyone in contact with children should undergo comprehensive, up-to-date screening processes to ensure they are safe and suitable.

“Strong safeguards are not optional – they are essential to protect children’s wellbeing, uphold community trust and prevent irreparable harm.

“Children and young people’s safety must never be compromised.”

Renee Carter, CEO of Adopt Change, said strong safeguards were needed when it comes to Working with Children Checks.

Meanwhile, male childcare workers have revealed they are “distressed” and feel “targeted” by the public response to the charges laid against two Victorian men who allegedly abused children in their care, which has included calls for men to be banned from working at centres.

One male worker, based at a Western Sydney centre for almost three years, said banning men was “unethical”.

“Not all male childcare workers should be tarnished with the same brush,” he said.

“I’m passionate about my job, and while this incident in Victoria is extremely distressing, I take my job very seriously and always adhere to proper conduct.”

Another male worker from Sydney’s south said he took child safety “very seriously”.

Dr Martyn Mills-Bayne, senior lecturer in early childhood Education at University of South Australia, said the industry had been “gutted” by the news of the alleged offending

“Male educators will be looked at in a different way and when you compound that with the call to ban men from childcare entirely, that starts to hurt men quite strongly,” he said.

Dr Mills-Bayne said driving male educators out of the workforce was not the answer.

“This is more about improving the system that’s clearly failing children. There should not be any gaps … no educator should be left alone with children.”

A Goodstart Early Learning spokeswoman said: “Although there are only small numbers of male teachers and educators employed in our centres we recognise the important role male educators play in the lives of children and advocate for and encourage more men to join early childhood education.”

“We support male educators to connect, share knowledge and grow professionally through a Community of Practice,” she said.

Originally published as Volunteers without Working with Children Checks caught taking part in kids’ sports