Consultation has now closed
The Department of Communities (Communities) appreciates 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 Act. National reform discussions are progressing concurrently and will also contribute to the potential reforms.
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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