Ministerial Statement

Communities and Social Inclusion Department Screening Unit

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:06): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: I am pleased to inform the house that the screening unit within the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion has implemented significant reforms to improve the delivery of screening services to employees and volunteers. In the 2016-17 budget, the state government invested $5.3 million over two years to undertake continuous monitoring of screening, which enables new offences to be identified on an ongoing basis, instead of the current system, which provides a snapshot of a person's history at the start of the three-year lifespan of the clearance.

DCSI led the development and implementation of the continuous monitoring system in partnership with the South Australian police and the Department for Child Protection. This significant reform to screening management means that South Australia is the only Australian jurisdiction with continuous monitoring of both criminal history and child protection information. Since its introduction on 1 July 2017, DCSI has received more than 500 notifications from the Department for Child Protection and the South Australian police.

The monitoring of new information means that screening clearances are now based on the latest information available and will continue to be updated as new information becomes available. As at 8 August 2017, 18 clearances have been revoked affecting 16 individuals with child-related employment and/or disability services screening clearances. My office continues to receive queries about screening from members of the public and members of this house. The time taken for DCSI to process a screening application depends on the relevance, complexity and amount of information requiring assessment. Those who need a screening for employment purposes will continue to be prioritised.

In 2016-17, DCSI received 120,000 screening clearance applications, an increase of 14 per cent from the previous year. Of these applications, 92 per cent were completed within 20 business days. Let me be very clear: the applications that take more than 31 business days to process represent the most complex applications. It is important that additional information from third parties, including the South Australian police and their interstate counterparts, be ascertained to allow a comprehensive assessment.

The expectations of our society have increased around the importance of screening as an essential in protecting South Australia's children, elderly and vulnerable groups from harm. Everyone on this side of the house agrees that it is our duty of care to ensure that vulnerable groups are afforded the highest level of protection. The government makes every effort to fully investigate all relevant matters pertaining to screening applicants for employment and volunteering. The implementation of the continuous monitoring of screening demonstrates the value we place on our community, and I am proud of our government's commitment to support those most vulnerable in our community.