The National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse has welcomed the Victorian Government’s commitment to urgently implement all 22 recommendations from the Rapid Child Safety Review. These reforms mark a critical step toward addressing systemic failures that have allowed child sexual abuse to occur in environments meant to nurture and protect children.
Key reforms include the creation of an independent regulator, a comprehensive overhaul of Working with Children Checks, the introduction of an Early Childhood Worker Register, enhanced information sharing and a sharp increase in compliance visits. These measures are vital to building a system that is proactive, accountable and capable of enforcing the highest standards of child safety.
However, the Rapid Review findings expose national-level vulnerabilities that demand strong federal leadership and a coordinated response across states and territories.
Fragmented systems and jurisdictional gaps have enabled perpetrators to exploit weaknesses. The Commonwealth Government must act swiftly to establish a national register of early childhood workers, harmonise Working with Children Checks and mandate child safety training for all practitioners in early childhood education and care.
Survivors, advocates and sector leaders are united in calling on the federal government to lead reform efforts and bolster funding for state and territory regulators to ensure timely and effective oversight.
“This is a moment for leadership. Piecemeal reforms will not suffice. We need a unified, national safeguarding framework that places children’s safety from sexual abuse at the centre of every decision.” – Janine Bush, CEO of the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse
We have a shared responsibility to ensure that every child is safe – no matter where they live.
