This is how the Working with Children’s Check compares to Responsible Service of Alcohol and food safety courses

There are calls to strengthen the Working with Children’s Check as comparisons show it can be done online in under 30 minutes while the responsible service of alcohol involves 10 hours of training.

Victorians serving cocktails and canapes receive more safety training and testing than nannies, sports coaches and tutors.

People trusted to work with children, including childcare workers, are given no training on child safety when they complete a Working with Children’s Check.

Currently, any Victorian who does not have a criminal record and can prove their identity can fill out an online form in under 30 minutes – no testing required.

Those pouring beers and serving steaks at the pub, however, are required to undergo up to 10 hours of training and testing on food safety and the responsible service of alcohol.

There is no training on child safety as part of the Working with Children’s Check. Picture: iStock

Getting a qualification to pour beers at a licensed venue involves 10 hours of training. Picture: iStock

Survivors of childhood sexual abuse, advocates and the opposition are calling for the state government to immediately adopt mandatory training, including on how to identify signs of abuse and potential perpetrators.

It comes after disturbing revelations that Victorian childcare worker, Joshua Brown – who had a valid Working with Children’s Check – had allegedly sexually assaulted multiple children in his care.

Australian Childhood Foundation survivor advocate Emma Hakansson, 25, said it was “laughable” that governments considered the current check a key tool for child safety.

“The adult who sexually abused me also had a WWCC,” she said.

“No one around was trained to notice the signs and protect me.

“The WWCC could be a tool to arm safe adults with training to keep children safe, and it’s absurd we trust adults with children without any training, while training is required to serve alcohol, even to handle food.”

Oho chief executive Liv Whitty said a WWCC was simply a “background check”.

“Organisations need solutions that offer continuous checking of changes to the working with children check statuses, behavioural reporting and unbiased reference checks with candidate consent - and these sources working together in real time, not in isolation,” she said.

Opposition education spokesman Jess Wilson said mandatory training was a “no-brainer”, noting the opposition had been calling for it for years.

The state government is looking at strengthening Working with Children’s Checks as part of a review launched in April, and have called for a national system.

In February last year, Premier Jacinta Allan dismissed calls – including from party colleague Paul Mercurio – for an overhaul of how Working with Children’s Checks are issued, claiming they were already “rigorous”.

“I know from that experience it … is a rigorous process that sits around the application for working with children check,” she had said.

“There are processes that sit behind that to ensure that people with a history are screened out of being able to receive a working with children’s check.”

Her comments followed the release of the “Hear Us Now, Act Now” report, which captured the stories of 339 child sexual abuse victims and survivors, and prompted Mr Mercurio to reveal his wife had been abused by her father as a child.

He then stood with victims calling for mandatory training.

‘Three years later, nothing has happened’

Victoria’s opposition has called for childcare workers to undergo psychological testing and for early education courses to be expanded amid the state’s childcare crackdown.

As the Allan government commits to a new workers register, banning personal devices and explores installing CCTV in centres, the Coalition has proposed an overhaul of Victoria’s early education system.

They have also demanded that the reforms being considered by the government, including changes to Working with Children’s Checks, are introduced immediately.

Currently, childcare workers can legally work in centres across the state with a Certificate 3 in early childhood education, which can be completed in just six months.

Opposition education spokeswoman Jess Wilson said it was not good enough that childcare workers receive “so little training” as she called for the introduction of aptitude testing.

“We need to think about how we lift the threshold for people undertaking those courses,” she said.

“And we believe aptitude testing, psychological testing, (should be introduced) to make sure that the right people are undertaking this very, very important profession that has so much trust installed in it.

“We’re calling on the government to make sure that the training of childcare workers is part of their review, and we’re strengthening the system from the very start, not just looking at the end point.”

As the NSW government commits to banning people from appealing the denial of a Working with Children Checks, Victorian shadow attorney general Michael O’Brien called on Premier Jacinta Allan to “urgently” consider following the lead of her NSW counterpart.

He also pointed to a report by former Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass’ which found Victoria had one of the country’s weakest systems to screen adults who work with children.

“Three years later, nothing has happened,” he said.

“At the moment, unless there’s a criminal conviction or a workplace disciplinary finding, people can get a working with children check – even if they’re under active police investigation for crimes relating to children.”

“That’s nonsense.”

Allan reveals who will lead review into childcare

The Allan government has announced who will carry out the urgent review into the Victorian childcare sector, in the wake of the horror sex abuse charges against childcare worker Joshua Brown.

Premier Jacinta Allan said on Thursday the “short and sharp” review would focus on immediate actions it could take “based on lessons from other states and territories”.

The review would report back to the government on Friday, August 15.

“And we will adopt every recommendation of the review and implement them as quickly as possible,” Ms Allan said.

The review will be carried out by Jay Weatherill, former premier of South Australia, and Pamela White, who has held senior roles across the Victorian public service for more than 30 years — working in child protection, disability, housing, youth justice, emergency management and education.

It comes after one of the most horrific alleged child sex assault cases the state has ever seen, which was made public this week.

Victoria Police revealed on Tuesday that childcare worker Joshua Brown had been charged with more than 70 offences, including rape and producing child abuse material.

Earlier the state government unveiled a series of reforms including a ban on personal devices in child care centres, which is also being considered nationally, and will be introduced in Victoria from September 26.

Centres that fail to comply may be found to have breached their licensing requirements and could face fines of up to $50,000.