Former Victorian government senior adviser Susie Wilson says practical childcare workers register could be ready to go “tomorrow”

A “practical, easy to use” childcare workers register could be implemented “tomorrow”, an ex-government adviser says, urging the government not to “sit around” for years waiting for one to be built.

A “practical, easy to use” childcare workers register could be ready to go “overnight”, a former Victorian government senior adviser says, despite state and federal governments saying it will take months to develop.

Ex-government adviser on child safety Susie Wilson said a solution to the Early Childhood Workforce Register was already available and ready to be implemented ahead of education ministers discussing the development of a national register at a meeting next month.

The opt-in website, called ChildAware, currently allows parents or staff to provide feedback or can make complaints on any safety issues in a centre.

It’s also already partly funded by the state government via investment and shareholding from start-up agency LaunchVic.

But Ms Wilson, who worked in the Bracks, Brumby and Ballieu governments, said it could easily be developed into a mandatory national or Victorian register of childcare workers to help childcare providers screen potential staff.

“Our platform is a one-stop shop for child safeguarding and can be implemented tomorrow in any service, anywhere in Australia,” she said.

Susie Wilson says the platform could be implemented tomorrow in any service across the country. Picture: Mark Stewart

After two and a half years of building and testing the site, Ms Wilson – who previously ran the legal unit at the Department of Education in Victoria and who has also owned and operated her own childcare service – launched the platform 18 months ago as a way of bringing together “thousands of pages of reports, recommendations and inquiries” into practical actions.

In regards to how the website would work, Ms Wilson said every childcare centre and worker around the state – or country if it was to be rolled out nationally – would have their own portal.

The childcare worker would be required to upload their Working with Children Check, qualifications, their police check and references to the portal before they’re even employed by an organisation, which future employers would then use to do a background check.

“You can upload all of your diplomas or certifications so the employer will look at all of that before they even walk through the door,” Ms Wilson said.

That same register would then be updated each time a staff member starts a new job to give employers a full picture of that person’s work history.

Ms Wilson launched the platform 18 months ago as a one-stop-shop for children’s safety. Picture: Mark Stewart

The website would also be linked to real time data on an employee’s Working with Children Check so if it is revoked or cancelled, an employer would be notified immediately.

“We really don’t want to sit around for the next four or five years to wait for a national register to be built,” Ms Wilson said.

“We’ve got it here. It’s built. It’s called ChildAware and we can implement it tomorrow.”

The Victorian government is currently working on an Early Childhood Workforce Register that is due to begin next month, however it won’t include fill-in childcare workers in the first stage of the rollout.

This is despite accused childcare pedophile Joshua Brown, whose alleged offending triggered calls for sweeping reforms and unearthed alarming safety gaps, having been employed casually.

Mr Brown was charged with more than 70 offences relating to child sexual abuse after he allegedly assaulted eight children aged between five months and two years at the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook.

Accused childcare pedophile Joshua Brown. Picture Supplied.

Government-funded childcare providers were told this week they had until August 29 to provide staff qualifications and checks to comply with the state childcare worker registration scheme.

Meanwhile, kindergarten services that don’t receive state funding, outside school hours care, family day care, occasional care and agency staff, will be left out of the first round of the register – leaving children vulnerable to potential predators.

Senior Minister Mary Anne-Thomas on Thursday refused to explain why fill-ins would not be captured until October, claiming the government was “moving as quickly as we can”.

“Stage one … which will be in place by the end of August will catch around 90 per cent of all workers,” she said.

Opposition education spokeswoman Jess Wilson slammed the government for “hiding behind a review rather than taking urgent action”.

“Part of the response should be looking at partnering with organisations and platforms that can provide the immediate solutions needed and ensure that information is transparent and monitored,” she said.

A Victorian Government spokesperson said it was “using established systems to take immediate steps to build a register ofearly childhood educators” by “late August”, with further work needed to link it into a national scheme.

At a national level – Education Minister Jason Clare and Early Childhood Education Minister Dr Jess Walsh said discussions would take place at the Education Ministers’ Meeting in August to speed up work on a nationwide register of early educators.

“We are determined to do what needs to be done to rebuild confidence in a system that parents need to have confidence in,” Mr Clare said on Wednesday.