Mandatory Child Safety Training

Question

Senator O'SULLIVAN: ...I want to go to back to child safety. Minister Clare stated in an interview on 28 April that 180,000 childcare workers had completed the new mandatory child safety training. I understand that's quite a good outcome in the numbers. I'm just after an update. What's the current figure? Ms Crane: As at 4 June, there were 252,676 completions of that training. Senator O'SULLIVAN: Good on all those workers that have stepped up and done that. I understand that the training package is made up of four courses, two of which have been released for educators to complete by August. The remaining two courses in the training package are enhancing safety and preventing child abuse and neglect, and responding to safeguarding concerns were expected to become available mid-2026. We're now roughly mid, so how are we going getting that out? Ms Crane: The modules that have been released at the moment are the foundational training, as you've outlined, six months completion for that from the release on 27 February. The advanced modules are due for release on 31 July, and there'll be six months for that completion as well. They are under development at the moment by the Australian Centre for Child Protection. Senator O'SULLIVAN: So it's not yet finalised? Ms Crane: No. Senator O'SULLIVAN: When did the development of those two courses begin? Ms Crane: Sorry, when did they-? Senator O'SULLIVAN: When did you start the development of them? Ms Crane: Of the advanced or the foundational? Senator O'SULLIVAN: Yes, those two. Ms Crane: I'd have to take on notice the exact dates. What I'd say is that the Australian Centre for Child Protection in working through what needed to be done as part of this course did extensive consultation, not just with their expert group but with sector representatives as well, around what were the gaps that this training needed to fill. That content is what has formed the basis of the foundation and then the advanced package, so, to a certain extent, some of that development commenced with those initial consultations. If the question is about when people started coding a module or things like that, I'd have to take that on notice to go back to the CCP. The Queensland Department of Education holds that contract, so we don't have visibility at that granularity.

Answer

Please see the attached PDF.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000694.pdf (opens in a new tab)