Hundreds of teachers with suspicious qualifications have been caught out by private company OHO in the past year

Victoria’s teacher shortage is being blamed for schools failing to properly verify teachers and other staff, raising fears sexual predators could “slip through the net”.

Schools are failing to properly verify teachers and other staff, with more than 800 dodgy qualifications picked up by a private company that carries out checks after they have already started in classrooms.

The company, OHO, has warned that Victoria’s teacher shortage is leading to mistakes being made because there is a rush to fill positions.

It has identified two “red flag” teachers – meaning they’ve previously been identified as a sexual predator – and hundreds more suspicious qualifications in the past 12 months.

Real-time credential checks show some organisations have only 10 per cent compliance and miss basic information such as working with children checks.

Schools are failing to properly verify teachers and other staff. Picture: iStock

OHO chief executive Claire Rogers called on the Education Department and regulators to increase their audit pressure on schools to better monitor teachers, volunteers and contractors who enter school campuses.

“Enforcing school’s ongoing monitoring of the right to work in our schools, such as working with children checks and teacher licences, would dramatically improve safety,” Ms Rogers said.

“It’s already a requirement but many schools have inadequate controls leaving the door wide open.

“I question how many more stories we have to read in our newspapers where predators have slipped through the net.”

Over the past year, OHO has monitored approximately 40,000 staff, volunteers and contractors on its database for its clients and found four red flags, of which two were teachers, and 832 suspicious credentials.

“A red flag is a major concern, and we inform the school so they can take appropriate action,” Ms Rogers said.

There are fears inadequate checks of teachers’ qualifications are ‘leaving the door wide open’. Picture: iStock

She said the current auditing system is fraught with opportunity for offenders to slip through, with school administrators navigating multiple manual databases.

Many schools rely on a visitor sign in system that can easily be bypassed.

“Schools have young people come in – the rowing coach or team leader on various sporting activities – that’s a problem area – and there are contractors who come on site to perform various tasks often on a daily or at least weekly basis,” she said.

Ms Rogers suggested the state government allocate public schools with a safeguarding budget so they are able to improve their services.

A Department of Education spokesperson said the “safety and security of children is paramount”.

“Any employee who is not registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching or who does not hold a working with children check is not permitted to engage in any child-related work and cannot be added to our payroll system without this documentation,” they said.

Five Victorian teachers have been suspended so far in 2023 by the teaching regulator.

It comes as the Herald Sun revealed last week a music teacher at Ballarat High School, Damian Woods, was stood down on January 24 after 25 years in the role over child sex and grooming charges.

In 2020 to 21 – the latest figures available – the Victorian Institute of Teaching resolved 112 conduct matters, and conducted thousands of criminal history checks.

In the same year the regulator also imposed conditions on the registration of 42 teachers and refused 20 applications for registration and/or renewal of registration.