The Department of Communities (Communities) values the feedback from stakeholders received through the public consultation period, which ended on 23 September 2025.
Communities is considering the feedback to inform proposed changes to the Working with Children (Screening) Act 2004.
National reform discussions are also progressing concurrently and will contribute to shaping the reform. This includes:
- On 14 November 2025, Attorneys-General endorsed the Standing Council of Attorneys-General Agreement to Deliver National Working with Children Check Reform (Agreement).
- The Working with Children (Screening) Amendment Bill 2025, which is currently before the WA Parliament, addresses Priority Action One of the Agreement regarding mutual recognition of negative notices across Australian jurisdictions.
Further updates on the progress of the Phase 2 reforms will be provided on this website when available.
Background
Communities undertook a four-week public consultation process to seek feedback on potential reforms to the Working with Children (Screening) Act 2004.
The feedback received in response to the consultation paper (PDF, 619.8KB) will assist Communities and inform the detail of amendments to the WWC Scheme.
Potential Phase 2 reforms aim to:
- Improve protections for WA’s children by updating the WWC Act’s scope to reflect contemporary service provision.
- Ensure that regardless of where a child lives, they are provided a consistent level of protection by increased national consistency across State and Territory WWC Schemes to the extent possible and appropriate.
This is the WA Government’s second phase of reform in response to the Working with Children Checks Report recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse. The first phase of reform began in July 2023, with substantive commencement of the Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Amendment Act 2022.
More information
- Re-visit this webpage for updates and further information.
- If you have any questions, please email WWCReforms@communities.wa.gov.au
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