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Children’s Guardian and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026

Published on: June 2026

Record: HANSARD-1323879322-166997

Children’s Guardian and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026

Second Reading Debate

Debate resumed from 3 June 2026.

Ms FELICITY WILSON (North Shore) (10:35:48):

On behalf of the shadow Minister for Families and Communities in the other place, I indicate the Opposition's support for the Children's Guardian and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026. The Opposition recognises that child safety legislation must be kept under constant review and updated where necessary. It is imperative that we continue strengthening the systems that protect children across New South Wales because, when it comes to child safety, there is no room for complacency, delay or loopholes. Families, carers, educators, service providers and the broader community all expect the law to work effectively, to be clear in its operation, and to place the safety and wellbeing of children first.

The bill makes a number of important amendments across the child protection framework. It amends the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 to make consequential changes following the commencement of the Child Protection (Working with Children) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025. It also amends the Children's Guardian Act 2019 to give effect to recommendations arising from a statutory review, and it amends the Children's Guardian Amendment Act 2025 to adjust the commencement of a related provision. Schedule 1 deals with the Working with Children Check framework and clarifies that a person subject to a mutual recognition negative notice cannot make another application for a clearance until that notice expires. It also sets out when such a notice expires and clarifies what is and is not captured by the term "mutual recognition negative notice".

The schedule addresses an unintended loophole in the Working with Children Check system by ensuring that a mutual recognition negative notice captures only the original adverse decision, not a secondary notice that arises simply because another jurisdiction has recognised that decision. It enables risk assessments to be properly completed in the original jurisdiction and ensures that affected people need only seek review in the jurisdiction that made the first decision. That is a practical and fair approach. It preserves the integrity of the system, ensures consistency across jurisdictions and helps to avoid unnecessary duplication. Just as importantly, it reinforces the principle that child protection decisions should be made on the basis of relevant information and proper assessment.

Schedule 1 also clarifies that the Children's Guardian may require information from a person or government agency in another jurisdiction where that information is relevant to assessing whether the person poses a risk to children. That is an important safeguard. Child protection does not stop at the New South Wales border, and the law must reflect that reality. Where information exists that may assist in assessing risk, it should be available to the Children's Guardian so that proper decisions can be made. That is especially important in a system that relies on timely, accurate and comprehensive information to identify risk before harm occurs.

Schedule 2 makes amendments to the Children's Guardian Act 2019. It expands the definition of "report" to include reports given under specified provisions, restores references to reports so the Children's Guardian can properly act on them and aligns referral powers with the threshold for imposing an interim bar.

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