Catholic bishops pen letter to Attorney-General for ‘desperately needed’ child protection changes

Australia’s Catholic bishops have written to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland urging the federal government to adopt a national working with children check register. Read the letter.

Australia’s Catholic bishops have written to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland urging the federal government to adopt a national working with children check register and consistent guidelines across the country.

Inaction from successive governments has seen key recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse go unresolved over a decade since findings were handed down.

In the letter, Chair of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Professional Standards and Safeguarding Greg Bennet said the Church “made clear” its support for a nationalised approach during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Most Rev Bennet, Bishop of the Victorian Catholic Diocese of Sale, wrote that jurisdictional variations have “greatly complicated” the Church’s work in running its own clerical compliance record – the Australian Catholic Ministry Register.

“Recent discoveries of (alleged) child abusers in childcare centres have highlighted deficiencies in Australia’s system for protecting children, including the lack of a national approach for working with children and vulnerable adult checks,” he wrote.

Chair of the Bishops Commission for Professional Standards and Safeguarding, Bishop Greg Bennet. Picture: Supplied/Giovanni Portelli Photography

“Whilst a Working with Children Check is not a safeguarding strategy on its own, it must be part of an integrated approach that includes robust recruitment, ongoing supervision, clear standards of behaviour, and effective complaint and investigation processes,” he said.

“Such reforms are just one part of the broader conversation about safeguarding children and vulnerable people that is desperately needed.”

Bishop Bennet said a national model that “would help prevent perpetrators from crossing state borders to offend again” would be “very welcome”.

He also called for “a national registration system for children’s service workers, an investment in training and supervision, and specialised abuse intervention and prevention services” as part of the government’s response.

News Corp’s Keep Them Safe campaign has lead calls for the federal and state governments to work together to close loopholes in child protection systems including Working With Children Checks, and establish a national, public and continuously updated searchable register.

Sydney’s Catholic and Anglican Archbishops have both pledged support for the campaign and its aims.

Originally published as Catholic bishops pen letter to Attorney-General for ‘desperately needed’ child protection changes