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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-10-24 Daily Xml
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Volunteer Screening Checks

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (12:39): I move:

That this house urges the state government to—

(a) acknowledge the invaluable service that volunteers provide to the community; and

(b) investigates a Blue Card system, similar to the Queensland model, in relation to the department for communities and social inclusion (DCSI) screenings.

South Australia has one of the highest rates of volunteering in Australia. More than 900,000 South Australians give their time to volunteer, contributing 1.7 million volunteer hours each week. This combined effort is equivalent to around 107,000 full-time jobs and is valued at almost $5 billion each year.

Regionally, the volunteer effort is even stronger. Nearly 60 per cent of the state's rural population engages in volunteer work, whether it is running a barbecue at Bunnings for a sports club or donating time to the local animal shelter. There are nearly 21,000 not-for-profit associations in South Australia that depend on teams of volunteers to contribute their services, and many people volunteer at multiple organisations.

In today's society, organisations are more cautious about who they allow to volunteer, and rightly so. That is why volunteers are required to undergo police checks and working with vulnerable people checks to assess their suitability for different roles. National studies have shown that the two main reasons why people choose not to volunteer are personal expense and red tape. Recently, the South Australian state Liberal government announced the scrapping of the $60 volunteer screening fee, which is a win for our volunteers and a move which will benefit many regional organisations and events. This is a great step towards removing a cost burden upon our hardworking volunteers and organisations, and something that I commend the state Liberal government on.

However, the red tape issues continue for South Australian volunteers. Currently, volunteers who work at a number of organisations are having to undertake not one but multiple police checks. This is because our system is not centralised. To ensure our state's level of volunteering continues into the future, we need to make volunteering as easy as possible and streamline our current system. We should be rewarding our volunteers, not making them jump through hoops to give their time.

In other states, checks are interchangeable between organisations. In Victoria, the working with children check is valid for five years and designed to be transferable between all accredited organisations in that state. Queensland, however, has taken the lead. In 2001, the Blue Card system was introduced across the state to protect and monitor people who work with children and young people. The Blue Card system is recognised as one of the most comprehensive and rigorous employment screening frameworks in Australia and the only one that incorporates the management of past, present and future risks by including real-time monitoring. Equally importantly, it means that volunteers go through just one application process to work across multiple organisations for three years.

The system recognises the vulnerability of children and the obligations of employers, the government and the community as a whole. It is important to note that the Blue Card is not a one-off police check; rather, it determines the eligibility of individuals to work with children through the comprehensive assessment of any past police or disciplinary information. The police information relating to all cardholders and applicants is monitored. If the information changes, immediate steps are taken to protect children from harm.

Over the 17 years that it has been running, the Blue Card system has gone through several reviews to strengthen it, close gaps and ensure that it is working in the way it was designed to. More than 100,000 organisations and service providers are registered with the system. If our state Liberal government were to implement a similar one-card system, it would have multiple benefits. Not only would it reduce red tape for volunteers but it would offer South Australia's most vulnerable—that is, children, the elderly and disabled—greater protection and safety by closing the gaps through real-time monitoring. Ultimately, it will increase our volunteering rate.

Many local organisations have spoken out about the need to attract younger volunteers to take over from the generation that is currently undertaking volunteering, but they are struggling to find the younger cohort. As elected members, we should be looking for ways to reduce impacts on our local communities, and this is a measure that I believe would have a major impact on South Australia: one check for multiple agencies, which lasts three years and has real-time monitoring. Could it be any simpler?

I have spoken to a number volunteers in my community about introducing this to South Australia and all agree that a one-card system would be of immense benefit. Kylie Boston, a mum of two who lives in the small town of Yahl near Mount Gambier, volunteers for no less than five organisations. On any given day, she might be typing up the newsletter for the South Gambier Netball Club, running a barbecue for the Yahl Primary School or writing a funding application for the Mount Schank Tennis Club. Kylie says she loves giving her time to these small community organisations and was raised in a family where volunteering was considered very important. This year, Kylie was named the Grant district council's Australia Day Citizen of the Year for her many volunteering roles.

Kylie said that she has lost count of all the police checks she has had to apply for. During the last three years, she has had to get six individual checks: three separate police checks and three separate working with children checks. Despite the fact that she already has the okay from one organisation, others will not accept her existing checks and she has to go out and get new ones. I agree with Kylie when she says that the policies are not consistent. Kylie believes that having a card with a photo, an ID number and an expiry date would not only streamline the system but allow more people to engage in volunteering.

I hear the argument about what happens if somebody commits an offence yet has the card for three years. This is where the real-time monitoring comes in. Just as is the case with your driver's licence, the card is cancelled, organisations that have you registered would be notified and the card would need to be handed in to the local police station.

Every morning, Rodney Summers pops his head into my electorate office with a smile and drops off the daily mail. Rodney volunteers his time at the Mount Gambier Lakes Rotary Club, Meals on Wheels, Western Border Football League, Mount Gambier district basketball association, Bendigo Bank, Sunset Community Kitchen and others. His wife, Judy, also devotes time each week as a coordinator for drivers and deliveries for the local Meals on Wheels. Both Rodney and Judy have had to get multiple police checks for their work in those organisations.

As the president of the Lakes Rotary Club, Mount Gambier, Rodney often has to round up teams of volunteers for events so that the club is able to fundraise. He says that the current system affects volunteering rates as people put it in the too-hard basket and decide not to help out. You have to see his point when a volunteer has to go through the process of applying for a police check, plus a working with children check, to sell fairy floss for two hours at the Mil-Lel show.

We should be making it easier to volunteer in South Australia, not harder. A one-card system would save volunteers time when working across multiple agencies and help our valuable volunteer organisations continue their good work. This is about reducing barriers to volunteering and making it easier for people to give their time. The pathway to volunteering should be simple and effective and not result in costs upon the person. Let's make it easier, not harder, to volunteer.

The time impact upon volunteers also needs to be taken into consideration. If a volunteer has to fill out three applications a year, as many do, how many hours are wasted in filling out forms that have already been filled out before? If we have 900,000 volunteers in our state, it adds up to thousands of hours lost in filling out unnecessary paperwork. Quite frankly, I think a person's time is better spent volunteering. With those comments, I commend the motion to the house.

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (12:49): I move to amend the motion from the member for Mount Gambier as follows:

Delete all the words after '(b)' and insert the words:

note South Australia's robust child-related employment screening (CRES) scheme, including continuous monitoring of all CRES holders, and the future implementation of a working with children check as a result of the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016, which will improve the screening system in South Australia.

I will read the motion in full very briefly. The motion would now read:

That this house urges the state government to—

(a) acknowledge the invaluable service that volunteers provide to the community; and

(b) note South Australia's robust child-related employment screening (CRES) scheme, including continuous monitoring of all CRES holders, and the future implementation of a working with children check as a result of the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016, which will improve the screening system in South Australia.

Our government is committed to supporting and building South Australian volunteering and to fostering an environment that encourages the next generation of volunteers—our young people, new retirees, people from all walks of life—to get involved and contribute their skills and expertise in innovative ways that respond to the new and complex demands.

During my campaign, one of the regular issues that was brought to my attention was the lengthy wait times volunteers were experiencing when applying for screening checks. Since the Marshall Liberal government was elected, the Minister for Human Services from the other place has worked with her department to address this concern. Delays have since reduced exponentially not just for volunteer screening checks but across all screening types. In 2017-18, the department processed more than 150,000 applications and, as of 10 October 2018 for the 2018-19 financial year period, 40,936 applications were received and finalised.

The department has advised the following regarding processing times in 2018: 76 per cent of applications were processed between zero and five business days; 9.9 per cent were processed within six to 10 business days; and 11.3 per cent within 11 to 15 business days. That equates to 97.2 per cent of screenings finalised within 15 business days. This is compared with the 2017-18 year that saw 56 per cent of applications processed between zero and five business days; 19 per cent processed between six and 10 business days; and 10 per cent finalised within 11 to 15 business days. That is the equivalent comparator of 85 per cent of screenings finalised within the 15 business-day period. It is important to note that the length of time taken is often associated with how common or unique an applicant's name is.

To further assist our volunteers, the Marshall Liberal government made an election commitment for free screening checks that will commence from 1 November 2018, saving volunteers and organisations the fee of $59.40. For volunteers, this saving will reduce the disincentive associated with the personal cost of volunteering. We will continue to support the WeDo app and other supportive programs put in place by the department for communities and social inclusion.

The member for Mount Gambier indicates that he would like the government to investigate a screening system similar to that in Queensland, which is the Blue Card. Queensland's Blue Card system was created to contribute to the making of safe and supportive environments for children when receiving services and participating in activities. The initial Blue Card screening is one component of the screening system, which considers the following:

screening to determine a person's eligibility to work with children and young people based on their known pass behaviour;

ongoing monitoring of all Blue Card holders and applicants, which enables action to be taken; and

mitigating future risk through the requirement for organisations providing child-related services to develop and implement risk management strategies.

Here in South Australia, we currently have in place robust child-related employment screenings, a scheme which assesses whether an individual poses a risk to children in a similar way that the Blue Card system does. Both the South Australian and Queensland screenings determine, based on relevant information, whether or not the applicant poses a risk to children. SA also continuously monitors all CRES holders. Queensland's Blue Card system checks information comparable with what the DHS screening unit does for a CRES. This includes:

any national charge or conviction, including spent convictions and pending and non-conviction charges, for an offence, even if no conviction was recorded;

child protection prohibition orders—whether a person is a respondent or subject to an application—or any disqualification orders;

if a person is subject to reporting obligations under the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Offender Prohibition Order) Act or Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act;

disciplinary information held by certain professional organisations, including teachers, childcare licensees and foster carers; and

information that the police commissioner may provide in relation to sexual investigations of a serious nature.

Through the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016, South Australia is implementing new child-related employment screenings which respond to recommendations from both the commonwealth Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and South Australia's Child Protection Systems Royal Commission.

The new act introduces a working with children check (WWCC), which will be valid for five years and portable between roles. It also introduces a unique identifier that will be issued to all persons who apply for a WWCC. This means that employers or other persons—for example, parents—may request this unique identifier for a potential employee or individual and verify online that the person has a valid WWCC.

Additionally, recommendations from the royal commission have progressed through the development of national standards for working with children checks. South Australia has worked with the commonwealth Department of Home Affairs, states and territories to produce the national standards, which aim to provide a minimum benchmark for WWCCs nationally and ensure an increased level of protection for children through the screening processes.

I think it is important to note that the main difference between the South Australian and Queensland system is that Queensland's Blue Card is a physical product that can be used to demonstrate that the individual holds a screening clearance. Whilst this may seem beneficial, there are risks. For example, a clearance may have been revoked but the individual still holds the card. It is for this reason that several jurisdictions across Australia have moved away from cards or other physical products. This is why the physical card is not recommended in South Australia. I join the member for Mount Gambier in recognising the invaluable service that volunteers provide to the South Australian community.

Ms COOK (Hurtle Vale) (12:56): I will not read the motion in full, but I indicate that we thoroughly endorse paragraph (a) from the member for Mount Gambier and offer support for the government's amendments to paragraph (b). Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak again on volunteers, member for Mount Gambier. They are a thoroughly important cog in the machinery of our community. With more than one million South Australians volunteering, providing billions of dollars of value to the economy, we would grind to a halt without them.

Thank you to the community of Fisher previously, and Hurtle Vale now, for supporting fabulous sporting groups, community centres, emergency services, animals, wildlife and a whole range of things in our community. Without you, it would cost millions and millions of dollars to have the strong and resilient community that we have. Thank you for doing the work you do as volunteers, and thank you for sharing your stories with me.

Briefly, I would like to offer my congratulations to the Aberfoyle Community Centre and the Reynella Neighbourhood Centre on offering their meal service. They offer affordable, healthy and free meals. I know that cook Anita Pachot does a wonderful job supporting that program, and there are volunteers at those community centres doing a great job.

The continual monitoring system that we now have for screening is, in our view, a lot better than the Blue Card. We are glad that machinery has now started to roll out and is doing the work it is doing. I think that it will only improve as time goes forward. With those few words, thank you volunteers for everything you do, and thank you, member for Mount Gambier, for bringing the motion to the house.

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (12:57): I thank those members who have made a contribution to this motion; however, I disagree that a physical card would be an impediment. It is no different from a driver's licence, as far as I am concerned, but I acknowledge any moves that we make to make volunteering easier. I certainly commend the government for waiving the processing fee for volunteers. I think that is a great step. We will continue on this journey to support our volunteers going forward. With that, I commend the motion to the house.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.

Sitting suspended from 12:58 to 14:00.

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