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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-03-18 Daily Xml
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Child Protection Screening

Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (14:37): My question is to the Minister for Volunteers. Can the minister explain why some disability groups are now paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more for screening checks, yet there are still lengthy delays in volunteers and employees getting the checks completed, delaying their ability to start work?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:37): I thank the member for Adelaide. Let me be clear: if someone cannot volunteer or they cannot work because their screening has not been done, it is unsatisfactory. I am aware of this issue and I have worked very closely with my department to look at the issues in regard to screening. The key issue for me has obviously been the increasing time it has taken to do the checks. In the coming weeks I would have tripled the amount of staff in the screening unit since I became the minister.

In the budget last year we did introduce cost recovery measures, and that included $55 for a volunteer to get a check, but to support volunteers with this—and let me add that some volunteer organisations pay for their volunteers and others ask for their volunteers to do the check themselves—they can put in multiple applications at one time and it will still be $55. When the cost did increase I did say very clearly to volunteering organisations that my door was open to talk to them about any of the cost pressures that they had, and I reiterate that aspect again.

I am aware that this is an issue. We have expanded the staff to working 11 hours a day over two shifts and overtime on Saturdays. In last year's budget we also had $500,000 additional for online registration, and that would be a registration form and the ability to check online someone's screening. This will be very positive when this comes out in the next few months for large users to reduce the ability for overscreening. One of the challenges we do have is overscreening. The screenings are portable and are valid for three years. We are working with our significant users to acknowledge that validity of the screening.

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