COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Report: 2020 Review of the Annual Reports and other matters of the Office of the Children's Guardian

Ms JODIE HARRISON(Charlestown) (12:49:41):Iam surprised that the deputy chair of the committee is not present to speak on this committee report. I speak today as a member of the Committee on Children and Young People as part of the take-note debate into the review of the Office of the Children's Guardian, noting the work of the Office of the Children's Guardian for 2020. While so much of the public's attention focuses on the Parliament's more adversarial activities, the truth is that a lot of the work of government is done in the far more collegial environment of the committee meeting room.

I am proud to be a member of the Committee on Children and Young People, working with my colleagues to ensure that some of the most vulnerable people in our State are protected and that their voices are heard on the issues that impact them and their lives. This is the second of the committee's reports to come out of the 2020review. The first report focused on the Advocate for Children and Young People, and highlighted the important role that government can play in uplifting the voices of children and young people in our society, and making sure they are heard. However, it is important that this uplift is balanced with the need to protect children and young people. This report, which has been generated as part of the committee's duty to monitor the exercise by the Children's Guardian of functions relating to her administration of the Working With Children Check and the Reportable Conduct Scheme, focuses on that element.

I particularly bring to the attention of this House the findings of this report. The first is that the Office of the Children's Guardian has properly fulfilled its functions and followed the principles as outlined by the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act and the Children's Guardian Act in relation to the Reportable Conduct Scheme. The second is that when confronted with anonymous allegations of improper Working With Children Check clearances and incidents of inappropriate behaviour in the workplace the Children's Guardian appropriately considered the allegations and responded to them.

I was also pleased to note the progress of the transfer of responsibility for the Reportable Conduct Scheme from the NSWOmbudsman to the Children's Guardian. A great deal of work has been done by the Office of the Children's Guardian to take on this new responsibility, and I re-emphasise the committee's acknowledgement of these efforts. I particularly note the level of outreach that has gone into engaging with the religious and faithbased groups that are now covered by the Reportable Conduct Scheme. In response to the anonymous allegations, the Children's Guardian commissioned external reviews of processes, with a focus on risk management and decisionmaking.

The committee found that the Children's Guardian acted swiftly, decisively and transparently, highlighting the importance of the Working With Children Check process and a commitment on the part of the Children's Guardian to ensure the integrity of that process. Two external reviews were undertaken in relation to the complaints. One was called the Robinson review, which was undertaken by barrister Mark Robinson of Maurice Byers Chambers. It examined the risk tolerance level and decision-making thresholds associated with the Working With Children Check.

The second review was known as the Grisard Consulting report and it was undertaken by Jo Grisard, who was deputy commissioner of the public service up until a few years ago. The review found that the evidence did not convincingly demonstrate that specific staff had been bullied. However, since both of those reports have been delivered considerable changes have been made within the Office of the Children's Guardian in relation to processes and structures. Having come to know the workings of the Office of the Children's Guardian through my work with the committee, I am keenly aware of the diligence and professionalism displayed, particularly by the Children's Guardian. I join the committee chair in thanking the Children's Guardian and her staff for participating in the review. I thank my fellow committee members for their engagement and interest in this very important area of policy.