Child Sex Offenders Registration (Child-Related Work) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 6 March 2024.)

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (17:18): I had gone through the many jobs that I held from a very young age and the jobs that all of my children had held from a very young age. I will also speak again about just how important it is to ensure that there are positive experiences and opportunities afforded to all children and young people. All young people—everybody's children—deserve to be safe at work. It is absolutely abhorrent and disturbing to think of a child sex offender working alongside any young person. This bill aims to and helps to make sure that those who are convicted of those heinous child sex offences cannot do so.

Children and young people in our state absolutely deserve to work in a safe and a supportive working environment where they can learn new skills, form new friendships and learn more about the world of work and what is required. At this moment in time, there is nothing at all preventing a registered child sex offender from taking a job working with those under 18 years of age. They are rightly not allowed to apply for or engage in child-related work, as a number of speakers have traversed, whether that be in an education setting, in sport, in social work or in a range of other environments. However, working in a business that employs children is not currently considered child-related work and this bill rightly changes that.

This bill amends the definition of child-related work in the Child Sex Offenders Registration Act 2006 to include work in a business or an undertaking that employs children and where the work will involve contact with a child. The act defines contact with a child as 'physical contact' as well as written or oral communication. This bill will help stop child sex offenders from working with or alongside underage employees, unless it could be shown that the work involved no contact with somebody underage.

Very importantly, additional power given to the police commissioner through this bill will allow the ban on child-related work to be varied or revoked in a limited number of individual cases only if the commissioner deems that the person would not pose any risk to child employees. Exemptions may be appropriate in some circumstances on a case-by-case basis—for example, if it could be shown that their work involved no contact with children, where perhaps they worked at completely different times of the day. But having said this, this bill rightly sets up very, very stringent conditions around this to help ensure people do not slip through that safety net.

We know that child-related work is also regulated in the Bail Act. This bill will effectively amend the Bail Act provisions, preventing alleged child sex offenders from working alongside or having contact with child employees whilst their charge is pending. A bail authority may lift this condition if satisfied that the proposed work does not pose a risk to children.

There will be transitional arrangements in place on commencement of this bill. Registered offenders whose employment is affected by these amendments must, within 30 days post commencement of the amendments, notify their employer and SAPOL of their intention to make an application to vary their employment conditions. While their variation application is being considered, they will be able to continue working either until their application is determined by the commissioner or until six months after the commencement of the act, whichever is earlier.

The changes to the Bail Act only apply to persons who apply for bail after the commencement of the bill; however, a person already charged but not yet convicted of a registrable offence before the commencement must still notify their employer within seven days of commencement.

The Malinauskas Labor government is steadfastly committed to doing what it can to help protect, support and empower the most vulnerable members of our community. This reform complements the strong suite of commitments we have already delivered since the 2022 election, including closing loopholes that make it easier for people who possess child pornography or childlike sex dolls to get bigger sentence discounts or bail, increasing penalties for a range of child sex offences, and boosting funding for victim survivor support services.

Our process of reform will continue. This bill represents another really important step among many. We will continue to take steps forward.

I wholeheartedly thank the SDA union, South Australia and Northern Territory branch, and their secretary Josh Peak, and the teams that have been relentlessly advocating for this change in legislation. I thank them for their enduring advocacy for young people at work. This commitment to workers is exemplary and to young workers particularly.

I commend those in the other place, the Hon. Tammy Franks and the Hon. Connie Bonaros, for their tireless work in this space also, working to ensure children and young people can undertake employment as safely as possible. I thank my ministerial colleague the Attorney-General, the Hon. Kyam Maher, for his work in the other place to ensure that this very sensible and fitting bill was passed through that chamber.

Children and young people are a crucial part of the South Australian workforce. They deserve the very best and safest start to a hopefully fulfilling working career. Again, in their first opportunity to earn money for themselves, to develop independence and vital work skills, it is our duty to keep them as safe as possible whilst they engage with those important opportunities.

I thank all of the businesses here in our state that employ young people under the age of 18 and help them grow those skills to later thrive in life. I also thank all of the members who have spoken to this really important bill before the house, and I commend this very important bill to the house.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clause 1.

Mr TEAGUE: I take the opportunity at clause 1 to start by adverting to the matters that I indicated I would raise in the course of my second reading speech. First among those is the express support of Business SA by its letter of 18 August 2023 to the Attorney—its support for the measures and the work the bill will do. At the same time I take the opportunity to note, as a number have, the work of unions. I think those on the government benches have singled out the SDA and Josh Peak in particular, someone whose name is prone to be confused with mine sometimes, when it is announced on the radio; people prick up their ears and say, 'Hang on. What was the source of that?'

Conscious of the fact that unions have had things to say about this debate along the way, just like there have been a whole range of contributors, Business SA has expressed its sentiments, including by this letter to the Attorney that I have referred to. The primary concern that Business SA has raised strikes me as a practical matter, that the concern might be able to be put at ease, if not comprehensively addressed by the minister's advice to the committee, because of course we are now embarking into new territory.

We are going to be using the definition of 'child-related work' in a new way that it has not arisen before—that is, rather than identifying types of work that are essentially child-focused, we are now going to be talking about workplaces in which children are present. That is an important change and important distinction. Business SA raises in that context a concern about awareness and about the possibility therefore for those who might be caught up with the operation of the act, both employers and relevant employees, to be made aware of the new laws and in terms of the practicality of time frames for compliance with the new act.

Obviously, we know that compliance with these provisions is very important for a whole variety of reasons that might be obvious. If there is a failure to comply that leads to a compounding of the circumstances that are faced by an individual, then we can head off in areas that are unintended. Unintended exacerbation are circumstances and matters that need to be dealt with very carefully.

The first question in that context to the minister is: is the minister satisfied that there is a program, with or without direct involvement of Business SA, in ensuring that those who might be affected in every respect will be made aware of their obligations? If so, how is the minister so satisfied, and how is that process of awareness-raising going to occur?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD: I think this was also traversed in the third reading in the other place with a clear explanation about this particular matter by the Attorney. I think the Hon. Michelle Lensink asked a similar question. It is a good question. What I can say is that this bill does not impose new obligations on businesses. The way that this is set up through this legislation or through this bill is that the onus of compliance absolutely falls on the offender, and the risk of noncompliance and the particular penalties that that will attract also fall on the offender. What I have been advised is that it is SAPOL's intention to communicate the onus of that compliance and that risk of noncompliance very clearly to those who are registered child sex offenders.

Progress reported; committee to sit again.