Australian Childhood Foundation Welcomes Progress of NSW Child Protection Bill

Friday 19 September 2025 – Australian Childhood Foundation (the Foundation) welcomes the passage of the Child Protection (Working with Children) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 in the Upper House. Among its provisions, the Bill opens the door for mandatory child safety training for all Working with Children Check holders to be implemented through future regulatory changes.

This amendment lays the groundwork, but it’s only the beginning. We now urge the NSW Government to ensure all WWCC holders receive training that goes beyond general child safety—training that equips well-meaning adults to recognise, prevent, and respond to abuse. Comprehensive child abuse prevention training must include education on grooming tactics, trauma indicators, and how to act when something feels wrong. Further reform is needed to make this training mandatory, consistent, and truly effective.

This legislation follows months of joint advocacy led by survivor Emma Håkansson and Foundation CEO Janise Mitchell, who met with MPs across party lines alongside Emma Hurst MLC to build support for child protection training. Their work highlights the critical role of survivor voices in shaping effective policy. The Foundation now urges the NSW Government to ensure survivors are meaningfully involved in designing the training—so it reflects lived experience.

“The Joshua Brown case exposed serious flaws in the Working with Children Check system,” said Janise Mitchell, CEO of Australian Childhood Foundation. “Mandatory training is essential to ensure WWCC holders are equipped with the skills and knowledge to know when something is not right and feel confident to act. Governments should be commended for stepping up, but this action must be turned into effective policy co-designed with people who have experienced abuse. It’s concerning we have heard nothing further from Victoria on their commitment to the Rapid Review.”

Survivor and advocate Emma Håkansson echoed the need for this mandatory training to be made law quickly: “When a WWCC holder sexually abused me as a child, not one of the other adults working alongside them was able to pick up the signs that I needed help. Mandatory WWCC training could change that for children today, built on the wisdom of survivors who know how they were failed.”

Håkansson also highlighted the urgent need for reform: “It should not be easier to be trusted with children than to pour a pint at the pub, but you need training and a passed test for the latter, but not to hold a Working with Children Check. That’s just not right.”

The Foundation urges the NSW Government to:
– Commit to a transparent and inclusive development process for WWCC safety training
– Partner with survivor advocacy groups and individuals with lived experience to co-design the curriculum
– Ensure all programs are trauma-informed, evidence-based, and subject to regular evaluation

About Australian Childhood Foundation: Australian Childhood Foundation is a leading organisation dedicated to ending child exploitation in Australia.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Gina Dafalia
PR and Communications
Phone: 0447558195
Email: gdafalia@childhood.org.au

Janise Mitchell
CEO, Australian Childhood Foundation
Email: jmitchell@childhood.org.au

Emma Håkansson
Email: ehakansson@childhood.org.au