Together with Safeguarding Children

Willow Duffy

Join Willow and the team of consultants at Safeguarding Children as they bring some of the ’hard to talk about’ safeguarding and child protection topics to the table with the hope of inspiring listeners to have similar conversations in their communities.

  1. Episode 5

    Beyond police vetting: What can New Zealand learn from Queensland’s Blue Card system?

    A conversation with Willow Duffy, Chief Executive at Safeguarding Children, and Nicola Robinson, Acting Executive Director of Queensland’s Worker Screening Services What if checking whether someone is safe to work with children was not limited to a one-off police vet? In this special Child Safeguarding Week release, we look across the Tasman at Queensland’s Blue Card system, which has been helping safeguard children for 25 years. Unlike a standard police check, the system assesses a broad range of child safety information, continuously monitors cardholders and alerts linked organisations if someone’s eligibility changes. Nicola explains how the system works and shares that, in the last financial year alone, more than 6,000 high-risk cases were identified where people were prevented from working with children. Willow and Nicola also discuss information sharing, concerning behaviour that may fall below the criminal threshold, organisational accountability, and the importance of connecting separate pieces of information to identify potential risks. With Queensland and New Zealand having similar-sized populations, New Zealand does not need to reinvent the wheel. We have an opportunity to learn from an established system and consider how a similar approach could strengthen safeguarding here. Willow also calls for a cross-party commitment to improving the safety checking of people who work or volunteer with children and young people. Protecting children must extend beyond election cycles and changes of government. Children’s safety is everyone’s responsibility, regardless of political affiliation. Listen to the podcast, share it with your networks and help build momentum for change.

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Join Willow and the team of consultants at Safeguarding Children as they bring some of the ’hard to talk about’ safeguarding and child protection topics to the table with the hope of inspiring listeners to have similar conversations in their communities.

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