Access Canberra administers the WWVP scheme on behalf of the ACT Government. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Up to 21 people have had their Working With Vulnerable People (WWVP) registration revoked over the past year due to new information emerging about their past. A further 23 new applicants have been denied registration.
The new data suggests the scheme, which has come under fire in recent weeks as little more than a box-ticking exercise, is working as it should.
An investigation into the national childcare industry on ABC’s Four Corners has led to federal and state education ministers plotting ways to crack down on recent serious breaches of child health and safety in centres across the country.
Proposals include installing CCTV in childcare centres and allowing authorities to undertake spot checks. ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry has also mentioned reducing the reporting timeframe of abuse from seven days to 24 hours and restricting the use of personal devices in centres.
But concerns have been raised childcare workers might be slipping through the cracks at the start – due to a weak WWVP scheme.
“I’ve been told the ACT is the only jurisdiction where WWVP card numbers cannot be validated live during the onboarding process,” independent MLA Thomas Emerson said in a statement to Region.
The ACT has the highest rate of serious incident reports across the early childhood sector in the country.
Mr Emerson has previously called on the government to release these reports to “clarify whether that’s a sign of better reporting practices or of a greater number of serious incidents occurring”.
“Organisations are concerned they might be receiving invalid card numbers but can’t verify them promptly,” he said.
“If there’s a risk people are slipping through the cracks, that needs to change.”
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson has asked for the ACT Government to release information relating to serious incidents in local childcare centres. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
The Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch said the current WWVP system was “not failsafe”.
“It only picks up criminal records or serious reportable conduct allegations,” secretary Carol Matthews said.
“Better information-sharing protocols are needed to close gaps.”
Since 2011, WWVP registration is required in the ACT “if you will have regular contact with vulnerable people while working or volunteering in a regulated activity”, according to the ACT Government’s website. Failure to register can lead to a fine of up to $7000 and/or two years in prison.
Administered by the government’s front-facing agency Access Canberra, registration is valid for five years – after which you need to reapply.
The scheme checks your name against police and court records to find any trace of a criminal history, non-conviction information (a charge for an offence where there was no finding of guilt), or investigations by child protection agencies, investigations under the Reportable Conduct Scheme, and cases of professional misconduct.
An example of a WWVP card. Photo: ACT Government.
The ACT beefed up its WWVP scheme in 2020 with recommendations from a 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which included an amendment to enable the ACT to “participate in national background checking activities and work with other jurisdictions … across Australia”.
In other words, data on an individual can be collected from records held in other states.
ACT Children and Young People Commissioner from the ACT Human Rights Commission, Jodie Griffiths-Cook, confirmed with Region existing WWVP registrations were “continuously monitored” while “adverse decisions about WWVP registration are automatically uploaded to the National Reference System”.
New data supplied to Region from Access Canberra shows over the 12 months from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, the government declined 23 new WWVP applications.
Meanwhile, “new information” was received about 848 people currently registered under the scheme. Of these, 21 had their registration cancelled (revoked).
Reasons include a Class A disqualifying offence such as murder, assault occasioning actual or grievous bodily harm against a vulnerable person, or sexual offences against a vulnerable person, as well as information on “other relevant criminal offences”, non-convictions, or a combination of “all types of information”.
“In addition to a registration cancellation, the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 prescribes other mechanisms to mitigate risk of harm or neglect to vulnerable people such as suspension of a registration and restriction/s that can be placed on a registration,” an ACT Government spokesperson said.
“All these mechanisms have been utilised by Access Canberra in response to new information received about registered people.”
ACT Children and Young People’s Commissioner Jodie Griffiths-Cook. Photo: ACT Human Rights Commission.
Ms Griffiths-Cook said she was satisfied the ACT had a “robust, comprehensive and integrated child safeguarding framework”, but added “it does not mean we should become complacent”.
“Screening checks alone do not keep children safe,” she said.
“These checks are only effective when used alongside broader safety measures and cannot replace the due diligence and vetting that should be done by employers, volunteering organisations, and by parents and carers.
“I welcome any additional measures, whether locally or federally, that improve the quality and effectiveness of existing systems … However, this should not be done at the expense of best-practice features such as the continuous monitoring of WWVP registrations in the ACT.”
